Are you looking to drive traffic to your nonprofit’s landing pages without breaking the bank? The Google Ad Grant program will help you do exactly that! After completing the Google Grant application process, you’ll receive $10,000 every month to spend on Google Ads.
Whether you’re an advocacy organization looking to boost petition signatures or an animal shelter aiming to increase volunteer signups, Google Grants can empower your nonprofit to broaden its reach, enhance its search visibility, and drive conversions at exponential rates. As long as you meet all of the Google Grant requirements and follow the proper steps, you’ll get your application approved in no time.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the basics and steps of how to apply for Google Grants! Here’s what we’ll cover:
At Getting Attention, we’re a Google-certified Google Ad Grant Agency devoted to helping nonprofits make the most of the Google Ad Grants program. We know exactly how to apply for Google Grants and get approved on the first try. Let’s start our journey by answering some of the most common questions that nonprofits have about the program.
Google Grant Application FAQs
Before diving into the required steps for applying for Google Grants, let’s run through a few of the most common questions that nonprofit professionals have when they first start looking into the program.
What is the Google Grant?
The Google Ad Grants program enables nonprofits to acquire valuable search engine ad space at no cost. The grant supplies eligible organizations with $10,000 in Google Ad credits every month to put toward driving traffic to their websites’ most important content.
Since Google generates more than 80% of desktop search traffic in the United States alone, this program has the potential to boost your nonprofit’s visibility and generate more support for your cause. All you have to do is follow the required Google Grant application process and get approved.
Google Grants can benefit nonprofits in a variety of ways, including:
Increasing conversion rates
Attracting new donors, volunteers, and other prospects
Engaging and strengthening relationships with existing donors
Marketing multiple ad campaigns simultaneously
Analyzing and tracking campaign performance
Learning the needs of online supporters and how they prefer to engage
Action Against Hunger is one of many nonprofits that have benefited from the program, driving 158,000 visitors to its website and raising over $66,000 in just 12 months thanks to Ad Grants. However, the Google Grant has several specific guidelines that determine an organization’s eligibility to participate in the program.
How do I get a Google Grant?
There is a pretty lengthy Google Grant application process that your nonprofit must follow, from verifying eligibility to creating relevant accounts to producing your first ad campaign.
The goal is to confirm that you’re a trustworthy nonprofit that will benefit from the program and promote content users will find valuable. To save time and ensure that your application gets approved the first time around, consider outsourcing the work to Google-certified Google Grant experts like Getting Attention.
How long will it take to apply for Google Grants?
The actual Google Grants application itself doesn’t take long to fill out or get approved. However, you’ll need to complete some pre-qualifying steps that may take some time.
For instance, if you’re already registered with Google for Nonprofits, the Google Grant application process will likely take anywhere from 2 to 14 days. Otherwise, you’ll need to apply and await for approval for a Google for Nonprofits account first.
4 Steps to Apply for Google Grants
To set you up for success, let’s explore each step in the Google Grants application process in more detail:
1. Check your Google Grants eligibility status.
To qualify for a Google Ad Grant, your organization must meet several criteria. Check your eligibility upfront to ensure that the time and effort you invest in the application process pay off.
Given that the program is available in over 50 countries, be sure to locate the specific guidelines of your current location. In the United States, the following is required to be eligible:
A current and valid charitable status, which in the United States means registering as a 501(c)(3) organization with the IRS.
A functional website containing valuable content that is relevant to the nonprofit’s mission.
Adherence to Google Grant program policies, including registration with Google for Nonprofits.
An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, indicating that your online domain is secure.
Outside of these eligibility requirements, there are specific types of nonprofits that are ineligible, regardless if they meet the above requirements. These include:
Government entities and organizations
Hospital and healthcare organizations, though nonprofits working in the healthcare space (such as breast cancer research or Alzheimer’s awareness organizations) are still eligible
Schools, academic institutions, and universities, though philanthropic arms of educational institutions still qualify
If your organization falls within one of these ineligible categories, consider conducting further research into similar initiatives that do apply to your nonprofit. For example, Google for Education offers separate benefits for educational institutions.
However, if your organization does not fall into one of the above categories, you’re free to apply for the Google Ad Grant! For example, if your church is looking to reach out to the community for more congregation members, consider applying for this program.
Additional Google Grant application requirements
Once you’ve evaluated your initial eligibility, you’re almost ready to start moving through the Google Grant application process. However, there are a few more requirements you should meet before you officially get started.
Some of the most important Google Ad Grant requirements include:
Ensuring your site does not already contain revenue-generating ads, such as Google AdSense.
Having the ability to manage Google Ads campaigns, meaning you’re able to evaluate keywords for relevancy, accuracy, and timeliness on a regular basis.
Doing as much preparation as you can upfront will help you move through the actual application much quicker.
2. Create a Google for Nonprofits account.
The next step is to register for a Google for Nonprofits account. Beyond Ad Grants, Google for Nonprofits offers an array of advantages for growing awareness for your mission. Some of the most useful perks you’ll receive include:
The YouTube Nonprofit Program, which empowers nonprofits to spread the word about their organization through visual storytelling. Using videos as a method for telling your nonprofit’s story will inspire empathy for your cause, form connections within your community, educate mass audiences, and much more.
Google Earth and Maps, which helps share compelling data visualizations and highlight your organization’s impact.
Google Workspace, which offers complimentary access to Google’s most useful apps, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Meet.
If this seems like an offer you can’t refuse, follow these steps to successfully apply for a Google for Nonprofits account:
Fill out the subsequent forms, including contact and organization information.
Submit your request and await a response!
Additionally, as part of getting started with Google for Nonprofits, you’ll be prompted to register with Google’s primary nonprofit verification partner, Percent. The process for registering with Percent can be completed through the Google for Nonprofits’s portal, and Google will submit your form to Percent after your complete it.
Make sure you’re signed in with an email address that you check frequently when you create your Google for Nonprofits account. Whatever address you use is where Google will send updates about your account, which also include any outreach about your Google Ad Grants account once you get it up and running.
3. Prepare your website for your Google Grant application.
When you apply for Google Grants, they’ll require you to submit your website, then they’ll evaluate it to ensure you have useful content that users will find trustworthy.
Google will run through a checklist of conditions regarding the quality of your website before approving your application. Beyond getting your Google Grant application approved, improving your nonprofit’s website will help you develop much more valuable ads that users will actually interact with.
Let’s explore a few website optimization tips that will maximize your application chances.
Include your EIN and mission statement
Google requires you to have a clear description of your organization, its mission, and its activities on your site. Doing so is not only crucial for getting your Google Grant application approved, but it also improves your credibility with website visitors and helps them determine whether their values align with your work.
While Google doesn’t require you to display your EIN (in the case of U.S.-based nonprofits), doing so doesn’t pose any security threats. It simply shows that you’re a registered 501(c)(3) organization to anyone who might be considering donating, volunteering, registering for an event, or sharing any sensitive information with your team.
You can display your EIN by including it in your website’s footer, so it will automatically show up on every page of your site without interfering with your website’s design.
Implement the proper security measures for your website
To meet the Google Grant requirements, your nonprofit’s website needs to be secure and trustworthy. The main way to do this is by securing an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. This encrypts any data that’s transferred on your site, so if someone’s donating, their payment details, name, address, and any other sensitive information they share will automatically be encrypted.
You can check whether a website is encrypted by looking at the URL. If the web address begins with https instead of http, that indicates that it’s SSL-certified. Google Chrome will even mark sites that don’t have an SSL certificate as ‘Not Secure’ in the address bar. Not having an SSL certificate is a quick way to turn visitors away from your website, since they’ll automatically consider your site to be untrustworthy.
Additionally, having an SSL certificate is an effective way to improve your organic traffic. According to Google’s Transparency Report, Google Chrome users on Windows, Android, and Mac all spend over 90% of their browsing time on HTTPs sites. Google, among other search engines, uses SSL certification as a ranking factor. Not having an SSL certificate can actually hurt your rankings!
To obtain an SSL certificate, Hubspot recommends that you verify your website’s information through ICANN Lookup, generate the Certificate Signing Request (CSR), validate your domain by submitting your CSR to the Certificate Authority, and install the certificate on your website.
Optimize your site
Overall, your website should be visually attractive, easy to navigate, and filled with valuable content. To optimize your website and maximize your Google Ads conversions, focus on these primary areas:
Landing pages. Your landing pages are the most common pages you’ll promote via Google Ads. This might include your donation form, volunteer signup page, or event registration page. Since you’re driving traffic to these pages, you want to optimize them to inspire users to actually fill them out.
Load times. 40% of users will abandon your site if it takes more than three seconds to load. You can quicken your load time by compressing your images, reducing the use of third-party plugins, and minimizing the amount of unnecessary code on your site.
Navigation. Keep visitors on your site by only putting your most important pages in your navigation menu and consider including a search feature for all other content.
Branding. If a user clicks a link and thinks they’ve somehow ended up on another site, that can come across as untrustworthy. Make sure every page on your site aligns with your nonprofit’s brand by including your official colors, logo, and voice.
Professional help is the most reliable resource for making the most of your site through Google Ad Grants. A Google Grants agency like Getting Attention that’s a recognized Google Partner will ensure that your website is up to par and optimized for the user experience.
4. Submit your Google Grant application.
Once your Google for Nonprofits account is approved, you’ll receive an email from Google, and you can finally apply for Google Grants! You can find the most up-to-date activation steps in your Google for Nonprofits account. Here’s what the process currently looks like:
Log into your Google for Nonprofits account. Within your account, click ‘Products’ and then ‘Get Started’ under Google Ad Grants.
Click the eligibility form link. This will prompt you to fill out an assessment with basic information such as your nonprofit’s official name, website URL, and details regarding your goals with the program. This should only take around 20 minutes.
Return to the Google for Nonprofits homepage. Click the checkbox to verify you’ve completed the form. Then, hit ‘Activate’ to submit your organization for review by the Google Ad Grants team. Normally, they’ll review your application within a few business days.
Accept the invitation. Once you’ve been approved, accept the email invitation from the Google Ad Grants team. You’ll also need to accept the billing profile, which you’ll receive in a separate email. From here, you can start running your Google Ad campaigns and will automatically receive $329 in ad credits per day so long as you maintain compliance with the program’s rules.
At this point, you’re all ready to start creating your campaigns, spreading your message, and connecting with new prospects online.
Advice for completing your Google Grant application
If you’re eligible and follow the provided steps, you’ll more than likely get approved. Even if your application is denied the first time around, Google’s team will provide you with a reason why so you’ll have clear next steps on how to get approved.
Some best practices for maximizing your chances of success include:
Not entering any credit card information, even if prompted to do so. If you receive any emails or any pop-ups requesting payment details, don’t provide any. There will likely be a red bar at the top of your Google Grant Application, but you should ignore it. Sharing billing information means you’ll be setting up a paid standard account, not a Google Grants account.
Noting your customer ID number within your Google Ad Grant account. You can find this in the top right corner of the page, written in this format: XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Putting thought behind the eligibility form questions. Some questions have a straightforward answer (such as your nonprofit’s website URL). However, the form also asks questions that will impact your Google Grant experience, such as how you’d like to learn more about the program. Think through what will be most useful for your organization so the Google Grants team can tailor the program to your preferences.
If you’re still confused about the process or you simply don’t have enough time in your day to apply, we fully recommend reaching out to a professional Google Grants agency. Our team is happy to chat about your needs and handle the entire Google Grant application process for you!
What to Do When Your Google Grant Application Gets Approved
Learning how to apply for Google Grants was the easy part! Now you have to create highly targeted campaigns and ensure you’re meeting the program’s compliance requirements.
While your best bet for success is to outsource account management to a Google-certified grants agency, here are the immediate next steps your team should take after getting approved:
Configure your Google Ads account
To start leveraging your grant money, you must set up your first few campaigns. Within Google Ads, you’ll find the Campaigns tab on the navigation bar to the left.
Keep these tips in mind to configure a well-organized account:
Follow the required account structure. Within each of your campaigns, you should have at least two ad groups. Within each ad group, you should have at least two active ads.
Do plenty of keyword research. To choose ideal keywords for your campaigns, pinpoint search queries that receive a decent bit of monthly traffic and relate to your mission. Google even has a keyword quality score tool that will check the expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience for your different campaigns.
Enable Sitelink Extensions. These will allow you to link to specific parts of your website below your ads. This gives users additional options to click and interact with your cause. Typically, these include other pages relevant to the ad, like donation or volunteer signup pages. To enable this, click the Ads & Extensions tab in your Google Ads page menu on the left.
If you’re interested in learning more about setting up high-performing campaigns, check out our ultimate guide to optimizing your Google Grant account. In it, we dive into account management tips and requirements that will help you connect with your audience.
Meet Google Grants compliance requirements
To ensure your account remains in good standing with the program’s rules, keep an eye on these essential components:
Account activity. Log into your account at least once a month and update it every 90 days to prove to Google that you’re still using the grant funding.
Ad relevance and geotargeting. Be sure that your ads have specific relevance to their audience. You can do this by including geotargeting, so Google knows their users are receiving ads relevant to them.
Monthly keyword evaluation. Google requires a Keyword Performance Report once a month to ensure that you are optimizing your keywords for the best results.
A minimum of 5% click-through rate (CTR). You must have at least a 5% CTR, starting at 90 days post-approval. This ensures that your ads are actually useful to users and relevant to their search intent. Accounts that fail to meet this requirement will be notified, and if they fail to meet a 5% CTR for two consecutive months, those accounts will be suspended.
Google implements these requirements to ensure that you’re actually generating value from the program. Failing to meet these compliance requirements will result in account deactivation, so keep an eye on your account and continue optimizing your ads over time!
How an Expert Can Help You Apply for Google Grants
To see meaningful results from this marketing grant, you need consistent upkeep, performance tracking, and compliance with Google’s official account requirements. With the weight of running a nonprofit already on your shoulders, this may seem like a lot to handle. Have no fear—that’s why Google Grant agencies exist.
From application to account management, Google Grant agencies like Getting Attention that are official Google partners will ensure your success every step of the way. Some valuable areas of assistance include Getting Attention offers include:
Applying for Google Grants. Our agency will check your eligibility, help you get registered with Google for Nonprofits, and fill out your Google Grant application. There’s no need for you to even understand how to apply for Google Grants beforehand since we’ll walk you through the entire process!
Creating, maintaining, and optimizing ad campaigns. Since you need three to five ongoing campaigns to generate real results, our professionals will continuously track their performance and refine strategies to improve your results over time.
Optimizing website content. Google Grant agencies like ours can help keep your website in the best shape via continual keyword research.
Maintaining account upkeep. To avoid grant suspension due to poor account maintenance, we can help make sure your organization is in constant compliance with Google Grant guidelines. This way, you’ll never have to worry about going through the account reactivation process.
If you’re curious about the role that an agency will play in Google Grants management, our team is happy to chat! Reach out to our team to discuss how we can support all your Google Grants needs, from applying to the program to researching the best keywords for your cause.
Final Thoughts on Applying for Google Grants
The Google Grants program is a wonderful opportunity for any nonprofit looking to amplify its digital marketing strategies. All you need to do is learn how to apply for Google Grants and then configure your Google Ads account according to your goals.
All of this information may feel a bit overwhelming, but the opportunity to utilize $10,000 a month of free Google Ads spending is worth weathering the confusion. Contact us today for a free consultation with our agency to help plan the best Google Ad Grants strategy for your nonprofit.
In the meantime, learn more about the program and maximize the success of your ad campaigns with these great resources:
Nonprofit Marketing Plan: 8 Key Steps (+ Free Templates!)If you’re feeling lost on how to develop an effective marketing plan for your nonprofit, have no fear! This article will outline everything you need to develop a full-proof plan and provide free templates to support your process.
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/How-to-Apply-for-Google-Grants_Feature-Resized-and-Compressed.jpg5501165Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-25 12:00:382024-11-15 14:48:06How to Apply for Google Grants: Get Approved in 4 Easy Steps
A well-defined and recognizable brand can do wonders for any organization or business. Recent studies have shown that 26% of nonprofits have rebranded in the past two years — and of these, around half (47%) have already seen an increase in revenue. This means that if you think your branding could be improved, you’re probably right.
To help you learn how to take your nonprofit branding strategy to the next level this guide will cover:
At Getting Attention, nonprofit marketing is our specialty. By harnessing the power of the Google Ad Grant, we connect nonprofits with the right audiences to drive impact and build support.
Why Does Nonprofit Branding Matter?
It takes anywhere from 17 to 50 milliseconds for people to form a first impression about your brand. Use a bulletproof nonprofit branding strategy to make the most of these precious few seconds.
Effective branding makes your nonprofit more easily recognized. This directly affects whether people see your messaging and feel compelled to take action.
This is why it’s so important to create branded content and messaging. With the right strategy, supporters can build a relationship with your brand and instantly recognize and trust it. Think about the American Red Cross—as soon as you see it, you know exactly who this organization is and what they do. To summarize, nonprofit branding is important because it:
Differentiates your organization: Your nonprofit should be recognized for your own incredible work, which means it’s important to stand out from other similar organizations. Therefore, your brand will need to be representative of your organization’s unique values and mission.
Cultivates trust: Effective and consistent branding ensures individuals that your organization is legitimate and well-known. The more they see your logo or hear your name, the better.
Increases social awareness: The more people see your branding, the more people will know about your mission and need.
Builds a solid reputation: When your nonprofit brand touches your entire community, supporters will much more easily regard you as trustworthy and highly reputable.
Thoughtful branding execution is an ongoing process. Your nonprofit branding strategy is made of several moving parts that must be managed to create a memorable These moving parts are consolidated into your nonprofit brand guide.
Essential Nonprofit Brand Guide Components to Improve
Who is your organization? A descriptive answer to this question should be captured in your nonprofit brand guide.
This document contains your brand “rules” and ensures that your marketing team is on the same page concerning all components. Without these rules, your branding will be inconsistent and unrepresentative. Your brand guide should be detailed and include use cases for both digital marketing and print materials.
Here is what to include for both messaging and visual elements:
Your Name
It’s common to have different names depending on which region your headquarters occupy. Additionally, some organizations decide to go by acronyms. Take M.A.D.D. or Mothers Against Drunk Driving for example. In this case, the acronym carries an emotional meaning that underlies the group’s cause. Most likely, you’ve already landed on your nonprofit name. To test its effectiveness, ask these questions:
Hopefully, you have answered “yes” to the above questions. If not, it’s time to re-evaluate your nonprofit name to be sure it accurately reflects your organization’s values.
Mission statement
Your mission statement is the core purpose of your nonprofit organization. When crafting your own nonprofit mission statement, make sure to include WHY your nonprofit exists, WHO your nonprofit is helping, and HOW your nonprofit serves them. Your WHY of your mission statement explains your vision, or how your organization would like positive change the world.
For example, The Nature Conservancy captures its mission and vision statement in a memorable and concrete way:
Mission: “To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.”
Vision: “A world where the diversity of life thrives, and people act to conserve nature for its own sake and its ability to fulfill our needs and enrich our lives.”
The above points answer WHAT the organization is helping (lands and waters) and WHY (to increase the diversity of life). The Nature Conservancy’s “See Our Priorities” link captures the HOW of their nonprofit mission and breaks it down into goals to meet by 2030.
Tone
Your tone describes how you communicate as an organization. Are you urgent or excited? Welcoming or focused? Your chosen tone is an aspect of your overall nonprofit personality and should be representative of how you approach your cause.
A practical application of tone is your tagline. It should be short, catchy, and representative of your mission. For instance, the Montana Historical Society uses the tagline “Big sky, Big land. Big history” to encompass its promise to uphold Montana tradition.
Color
The colors you choose for your nonprofit branding can greatly influence how your audience feels when they see your organization out and about online or in person. When determining the best colors to represent your brand, try to think of the emotions that colors evoke.
For instance, green is often associated with nature while red is associated with passion or urgency. To get a full view of brand color associations, refer to this guide:
Red: Represents energy, urgency, and passion. Many health-related organizations use this color.
Purple: Evokes royalty and creativity. It can also evoke stability as many religious organizations use this color.
Blue: Exhibits trustworthiness, openness, and faith. Human rights organizations use blue to back their missions of providing humanitarian aid.
Gray: Indicates simplicity and neutrality. Organizations that use this color offer a calmer aesthetic.
Green: Pictures growth and stability. Many conservation-based or environmental organizations tie in their values with green.
Yellow: Elicits a playful or urgent emotional response. Yellow is also used to demand attention and spread awareness.
Orange: Encompasses a friendly and warm tone. Wildlife rescue groups commonly use this color.
Pink: Represents creativity and innovation. Many movements in the 2SLGBTQ+ utilize this color.
Black: Indicates boldness and seriousness. Several justice groups use this color to mobilize their mission.
As you finalize your color palette, be mindful of existing color associations. For example, pink is also tied to the breast cancer awareness movement. Other considerations include political party and international color meanings.
It’s best to choose one primary color and 2-3 secondary colors to complement it. This way, your branding will remain simple and impactful.
Logo
Your logo is the center of your brand. It’s the image that people remember most and will recognize the easiest. Using your logo consistently helps create an association to your brand and builds the relationship supporters have with your nonprofit’s content. There are three types of logos to consider:
Wordmark logos include your nonprofit name and can be more useful if your organization is not well-known
Symbol logos include only the symbol of a nonprofit such as the YMCA’s “Y” symbol.
Combination marks capture your mission by showing your name and a symbol. These are the most common logo type.
Whichever you choose, ensure your logo evokes the right emotion and is communicative of your mission.
Typography
Your font choices should align with your colors and logo. Sans serif fonts are a popular choice due to their readability and straightforwardness.
Consider selecting two fonts from the same family with different weights to add hierarchy to your visual brand. Use the heavier font weight for headlines and the lighter font for descriptions.
5 Nonprofit Branding Strategy Best Practices
Now that you’ve nailed your nonprofit brand guide, it’s time to explore how to use it to turn more heads and inspire greater support. Consider these best practices to catapult your nonprofit branding forward, connect with your audience, and deliver your messaging in ways that inspire support:
Make your branding stand out: There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered in the U.S. alone. Find ways to make your nonprofit stand out from the crowd to garner the necessary support. This is especially important for nonprofits with similar missions.
Craft a compelling story: As you now know, nonprofit branding is more than just what your website and social media posts look like. It involves how you connect and communicate your stories. To take your branding to the next level, consider employing nonprofit storytelling methods. This is one of the most powerful ways to build your brand, cultivate trust with your audience, and promote your mission.
Use branding on multiple channels: Branding should represent your organization consistently regardless of its platform. The marketing channels you use are incredibly important especially if you want to build relationships with donors and reach new prospects. Make your branding consistent on every channel so that supporters can recognize you immediately and continue their relationship with your brand.
Update branding as needed: As with any marketing effort, it’s important to collect data and track its success to learn if there’s anything that needs to be improved or optimized. To ensure your branding stays on track and helps you meet goals, we recommend compiling regular reports and following metrics like social media interactions and email open rates.
Apply for the Google Grant — One of the best ways to build your branding strategy and connect with supporters is to apply for the Google Ad Grant! With this grant, nonprofit organizations receive $10,000 in Google ad credits each month. Plus, all eligible nonprofits who apply can receive this grant, not just a select few like with most other grants. Use your Google ads to build your brand and reach more people, faster.
Your nonprofit branding strategy impacts many aspects of your marketing efforts and donor relationships. Leverage these best practices to ensure that your branding not only represents your organization and mission effectively but that you’re able to incorporate it into key messaging and connect with supporters in valuable ways.
5 Smart Nonprofit Branding Examples
Sometimes the best way to visualize your nonprofit brand is by being inspired by other successful brands in your space. Analyzing what makes their branding so memorable and effective will help you learn the ropes or enhance your existing branding.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top five nonprofit brands to watch. We’ve included a snapshot of each’s colors, logos, and messaging, so you can see how each organization weaves its messaging into its brand.
Oxfam is a humanitarian organization dedicated to ending inequality. They call on supporters to fight injustice and poverty as one united community. Here’s what their branding looks like:
Mission statement: “Equal treatment free from discrimination. Equal rights under the law. Equal opportunities to build a life and thrive. For everyone.”
Colors: Warm green and white
Logo: Green simplistic ox
Tagline: “The future is equal”
Oxfam’s branding reflects its values. The warm green exudes a friendly and welcoming personality that invites everyone to join in their movement. The soft logo does not include divisions or harsh lines as a reminder that everyone deserves a chance to thrive, not just survive. Additionally, Oxfam focuses on the word “equal” in its messaging to echo its mission statement.
Feeding America is the largest hunger relief organization in the United States and represents a nationwide network of food banks and pantries. Their vision is to create a hunger-free nation. Here’s a glimpse of their branding:
Mission statement:Our mission is to advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all in partnership with food banks, policymakers, supporters, and the communities we serve.
Logo: Wordmark with wheat symbol
Tagline: “Our vision is an America where no one is hungry”
Colors: Orange, dark green
Feeding America’s mission statement is perfectly captured in its branding materials. Its inclusion of wheat and use of warm, inviting colors signal its promise to end hunger. The use of orange is also commonly used in relation to commercial food logos, mimicking Feeding America’s vision to provide meals for those in need.
Charity: water is an organization dedicated to increasing clean drinking water access. Founded in 2006, it has been working to help end the water crisis through local partners and supporters. Here is how they use their story to capture their branding:
Mission statement:“To bring clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet”
Logo: Jerry can
Tagline: “Together, we end the water crisis”
Colors: Yellow and black
Charity: water’s jerry can has become famous in the nonprofit logo world because it represents the work this nonprofit does in a succinct and memorable way. Millions of developing communities rely on jerry cans for clean drinking water transport. Therefore, the inclusion of this symbol speaks to charity: water’s promise to bring safe drinking water to its beneficiaries.
The Backpack Project (TBP) is a student-run organization dedicated to easing the burden of homelessness by delivering backpacks containing food, toiletries, and other necessities to those experiencing homelessness. Here’s how their brand echoes this sentiment:
Mission statement:“to contribute to the collective effort that characterizes homelessness “rare and brief.”
Logo: Backpack zipper
Tagline: Easing the Burden of Homelessness
Colors: Light green and gray
TBP’s branding’s star feature is its simplicity. Rather than featuring a stuffed bag to visualize the nonprofit’s mission, TBP features only a zipper to get its message across. The zipper is a nod to the backpack, but also a hope that more people experiencing homelessness will be able to “unzip” a better future where they can characterize their experience as “rare and brief.”
Pencils of Promise is committed to providing quality education to children in need. They provide teacher support, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programs, and quality infrastructure to enhance learning environments. Here is how their brand captures their values:
Mission statement:“Every child should have access to quality education. We create schools, programs, and global communities around the common goal of education for all.”
Logo: Yellow pencil combination mark
Tagline:“We are the Impossible Ones”
Colors: black and yellow
Pencils of Promise’s simple logo goes for the obvious without becoming intrusive. The pencil shape tells people immediately that this organization is education-centered. Pencils of Promise’s language is also bold and hopeful as reflected in its choice of bright yellow and stark black (which are also the colors of a classic No. 2 pencil!).
Additional Resources
There’s a common misconception that nonprofit branding only refers to your organization’s aesthetics. However, it extends beyond color palettes and fonts, as your brand messaging can directly impact your nonprofit’s marketing and fundraising success. If you want to reach your supporters where they are and spread awareness of your mission, having an effective branding strategy is essential.
To continue your research in learning how to push your nonprofit forward, we encourage you to explore our additional resources for nonprofit branding and marketing:
Fundraising CRMs, or constituent relationship management systems for nonprofits, are vital for effective revenue generation and donor management efforts. This is especially true as organizations continue to grow.
If your nonprofit is seeking a CRM solution (whether for the first time or to upgrade an existing system), you’ve come to the right place! This list of top nonprofit CRMs has been crafted with organizations like yours in mind, and we’ll highlight key features, benefits, and more for each provider.
At Getting Attention, our favorite fundraising CRMs (in alphabetical order) are:
One key function to consider as you browse this list of suggested fundraising CRMs is matching gift abilities. Research shows that between $4 and $7 billion in available matching gift funding is left on the table each year—largely because nonprofits lack the tools to secure those corporate dollars effectively.
CharityEngine offers a number of fundraising solutions, including an online donation platform and fundraising CRM. Their CRM system enables teams to quickly and easily automate fundraising, marketing, and data collection to provide nonprofits with more time to spend on mission-related projects.
Top CharityEngine features:
Built-out donor profiles
Donation pages
Payment processing
Reporting and analytics
Automated workflows.
Not to mention, CharityEngine donation forms drive matching gift revenue by simplifying the matching process for both donors (through personalized reminders and company-specific instructions) and nonprofits (by automating communications, collecting data, and tracking revenue growth). Since the #1 hindrance for matching gifts is a lack of awareness among supporters, CharityEngine leverage matching git software from Double the Donation to ensure each donor is exposed to matching gift information at multiple touchpoints.
Why We Love This CRM
CharityEngine’s major gifts and planned giving software capabilities allow organizations to maximize their impact and streamline their management. As major gifts make up to 80% of an organization’s total revenue, this feature offers a huge advantage.
With CharityEngine, your organization can track applications and opportunities and manage projects with just a few clicks. Its robust analytics features also provide telling insights to measure your major gift progress.
Classy is an all-in-one fundraising platform with solutions for donor management, online donations, and peer-to-peer campaigns. This fundraising CRM is designed to provide users with a central hub for campaign and supporter management called Classy Manager. With these tools, nonprofit fundraisers are able to launch and manage campaigns, track performance and donor interactions, and gain a better understanding of their fundraising overall.
Top Classy features:
Online donation processing
Event management
Robust reporting and analytics
And Classy doesn’t want you to forget about matching gift opportunities, either! This platform integrates with Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift tool to enable a searchable matching gift database, automated donor follow-ups and match reminders, and more. They even offer a two-way data sync that allows matching gift information collected in 360MatchPro to flow into Classy’s platform! When donors are encouraged to participate in their employers’ matching gift programs on multiple occasions, they’ll be more likely to request a match and secure more dollars for your cause.
Why We Love This CRM
Classy provides a 360-degree supporter interaction view, so you can observe and manage your donor interactions from every angle. You can look into individual donor histories to enhance your engagement efforts. This is especially helpful to re-engage donors and increase your donor retention rate.
For reference, the average donor retention rate across nonprofits is between 40 and 45% which can feel like you’re constantly fighting an uphill battle. However, donor management tools like the 360 supporter interaction view can help your nonprofit make every interaction count.
Click & Pledge offers powerful donor management tools built on the Salesforce platform. This innovative fundraising CRM can even help users sort and rank donors based on an algorithm that considers personal donations, amounts fundraised, and gifts within an individual’s network in order to identify their highest-value supporters.
Top Click & Pledge features:
Automated communications
Data analytics
Manual donation processing
Seamless Salesforce integration
Plus, Click & Pledge integrates with the top matching gift solution, 360MatchPro, to promote matching gift opportunities to supporters, drive more company match requests with automated communications, and boost fundraising revenue overall.
Why We Love This CRM
Click & Pledge offers effective video fundraising options to capture your donor’s hearts. You can simply embed donation forms directly into your videos for viewers to donate without having to exit the video experience.
This solution doesn’t allow viewers to get distracted, so they can give to your cause at the best time—right after viewing your mission. And, recent studies have shown that 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation. With Click & Pledge, you can make this process as easy as possible.
DonorPerfect is a comprehensive fundraising solution that specializes in strategic donor management through targeted communications, multichannel outreach, easy donation processing, and customizable reports. Plus, it can save fundraisers tons of time and resources when they employ DonorPerfect’s extensive automated workflows!
Top DonorPerfect features:
Payment processing
Fundraising event management
Online donation forms
Insightful data analytics
This platform also incorporates matching gift tools and strategies with a Double the Donation integration. This way, organizations can easily communicate the importance of matching gifts to donors and provide targeted next steps depending on the individual’s employer. The easier it is for donors to participate in matching gift programs, the more likely they are to follow through with their request, and the more dollars that go toward your mission!
Why We Love This CRM
DonorPerfect has a wide variety of integrations, enabling your team to choose the ones that will best complement your goals. From volunteer management to website and event management, DonorPerfect will have your team covered.
Engaging Networks is a multi-faceted fundraising platform with tools for online donations, nonprofit marketing, peer-to-peer campaigns, donor and data management, and more. This eCRM is dedicated to providing users with cutting-edge technology with constantly developing upgrades, newly released features, and a web of seamless integrations.
Top Engaging Networks features:
Advanced visual reporting
Target audience query builders
Fundraising performance analysis
Donor profiling and geotargeting
One of their most impactful integrations is with Double the Donation’s matching gift software, 360MatchPro. Thanks to the Engaging Networks and Double the Donation integration, organizations can quickly boost matching gift revenue by promoting these program opportunities at multiple donor touchpoints. This includes, but is not limited to, during the donation process itself and within a number of automated and customizable email follow-ups.
Why We Love This CRM
Engaging Networks is currently the only platform that offers artificial intelligence fundraising capabilities. This future-forward option leverages machine learning to help organizations reach fundraising goals and transform one-time donors into recurring supporters. As your data changes, artificial intelligence fundraising can continue to predict patterns and give an in-depth glimpse into supporter behavior.
Formerly SimplyFundraisingCRM, GiveSmart is a fantastic solution that equips nonprofits with innovative donor management tools. The top benefits of GiveSmart include saving time through strategic automation, raising more with effective fundraising solutions, and receiving guided assistance from a panel of expert fundraising advisors.
Top GiveSmart features:
Automated donor acknowledgments
One-click donor reports
Artificial intelligence
Data analysis
Not to mention, the platform integrates with Double the Donation’s most comprehensive matching gift solution to help drive additional revenue from company matches! Through donor screening practices and automated communications, organizations can easily promote matching gifts and encourage supporters to participate.
Why We Love This CRM
GiveSmart’s ticketing and guest management features work great for any type of event—in-person, online, or hybrid that can keep up with changing preferences. In addition, GiveSmart has scheduled text messaging that engages supporters at the most opportune time.
Kindful CRM is a product of Bloomerang that is designed to build seamless connections between various nonprofit processes to streamline backend efforts and provide improved donor experiences. This platform emphasizes the power of technical integrations with a number of other fundraising platforms to provide an interconnected network of fundraising software that drives success.
Top Kindful features:
Tracking and reporting
Donor lifecycle dashboards
Detailed donor and contact records
Donation tracking
Wealth insights
And for many Kindful clients, this network incorporates matching gift software and practices as well. Their matching gift integration with Double the Donation’s comprehensive automation tool allows organizations to promote company matches through personalized outreach and match reminders. Plus, users can configure automated follow-ups to include matching gift instructions, next steps, and guidelines for each individual’s employer, which ultimately results in increased matches and revenue.
Why We Love This CRM
Kindful’s library of integration features is vast, but there is one specifically worth highlighting—Kindful’s email capabilities. Kindful enables your organization to send timely, personalized donation receipts and campaign emails to establish a personalized cadence with donors. According to TruConversion Reports, an email marketing campaign can deliver a return of $40 for every $1 spent. This places email in the highest marketing ROI category.
Neon CRM is a donor management solution created by the fundraising platform Neon One and designed to scale up alongside organizations of any size. This versatile solution is able to help manage nonprofit fundraising, memberships, events, websites, and more.
Top Neon CRM features:
Online web forms
Grant management
Constituent login portals
Automated receipting
Accounts and relationship tracking
Donation processing
Plus, their matching gift integration with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation enables organizations to significantly increase matching gift awareness through strategic follow-ups and personalized guidelines—and boost matching gift revenue as a result.
Why We Love This CRM
Neon One includes website design solutions that can help you build and manage web pages with confidence. With its web design tools, you can generate responsive, SEO-optimized web pages with no coding needed. This way, you can promote your mission through an engaging online presence.
NonProfitEasy is a product of the Lumaverse technology company that was built to provide organizations with simple, scalable solutions. Previously known as Fundly CRM, NonProfitEasy makes its goal to “turn one-time donors into lifetime supporters.”
Top NonProfitEasy features:
Donor communication
Event management
Pledge and grant tracking
Customizable and predefined data reports
Membership management
And with a seamless integration with the industry-leading matching gift tool, 360MatchPro, NonProfitEasy users are able to double supporter donations while saving time and effort through automation. This includes donor information screening to identify match-eligible transactions, customized outreach triggered to remind eligible individuals of matching gifts, and powerful tracking and reporting capabilities with forecasting tools.
Why We Love This CRM
TheNonprofitEasy includes enhanced member engagement features, so you can create member levels and pricing that reflect your nonprofit’s needs. Additionally, its embeddable member forms make it easy for you to create compelling member marketing campaigns. Member-specific email blasts also let you personalize your communications.
Raiser’s Edge NXT is a nonprofit fundraising CRM built by Blackbaud that provides organizations of all sizes with donor management tools. The Raiser’s Edge NXT is their newest version of the product, which is a cloud-based software that aims to provide the social good community with an easy and effective fundraising solution.
Top Raiser’s Edge NXT features:
Growth opportunity identification
Dynamic email campaigns
Integrated multichannel techniques
Automated workflows
Accessibility from any device
Donor data analytics
To incorporate matching gift fundraising efforts as well, Raiser’s Edge NXT integrates seamlessly with Double the Donation’s matching gift software. This enables nonprofits to leverage the most effective matching gift strategies with little to no time and effort required of their fundraising teams. With automated donor follow-ups and match reminders, organizations see significant increases in match revenue!
Why We Love This CRM
Raiser’s Edge NXT has extensive donor data tools that offer automated checkups to ensure your data is up to date. With clean and correct data, you’ll be able to foster more meaningful interactions and track your entire constituent community.
Salesforce is a popular CRM solution for businesses and nonprofits alike. Salesforce.com caters to the for-profit side of the sector, while Salesforce.org targets nonprofits, schools, and other mission-driven organizations.
Top Salesforce features:
Donor-centric relationship-planning
Digital-first fundraising experiences
Program management, reporting, and grantmaking
This comprehensive platform also allows Salesforce clients to extend their CRM functionality through a number of technical integrations with partners listed in the Salesforce AppExchange marketplace—one of which is Double the Donation. When users leverage Double the Donation’s matching gift automation tools, nonprofits can collect two gifts for every one donation solicited by driving matching gift participation.
Why We Love This CRM
Salesforce’s digital marketing tools can help you make the initial ask and retain them long-term. With Salesforce, you can launch a series of emails or a full-blown, multi-channel campaign. The best part? Salesforce’s personalizing email features let you catch each individual supporter’s attention.
SalsaCRM from SalsaLabs is a powerful and effective donor management system. This software works well alongside Salsa’s other fundraising products in addition to a range of other top fundraising solutions—including Double the Donation’s matching gift tools!
Top Salsa features:
Rich donor profiles
Extensive relationship-tracking
Automated suggested gift calculations
Unified online and offline gift management
The Double the Donation integration allows Salsa clients to utilize Double the Donation’s matching gift software, 360MatchPro, alongside their fundraising CRMs and donation forms to automate matching gift communications with donors. This boosts awareness of these programs and their availability while encouraging eligible donors to request matching donations from their employers. Ultimately, these tools result in increased corporate donations and better donor relations.
Why We Love This CRM
SalsaLab’s donor profiles are overflowing with usable information for you to access unlimited custom fields and activity timelines. The platform’s automated “next suggested gift” calculations determine the optimal amounts for you to ask each donor. This way, you’ll engage with donors on a personal level and make an ask that aligns with their donation history.
Virtuous offers a nonprofit CRM that is designed to help fundraisers streamline donor management efforts, improve supporter relationships, and leverage data-rich insights for improved practices.
Top Virtuous features:
Omnichannel marketing strategies
Donor analysis with highlighted opportunities
Personalized cultivation and retention plans
Reporting dashboards
With Virtuous, nonprofit clients can configure their fundraising CRMs to incorporate Double the Donation’s matching gift functionality. This integration allows organizations to increase matching gifts and improve their strategies through automated email follow-ups that contain employer-specific program information and instructions. When more donors request company matches from their employers, the nonprofit receives additional gifts for free!
Why We Love This CRM
Virtuous CRM’s social insights can give your organization the opportunity to make informed donor decisions. Using these insights, you can track givers based on their interests, persona, affiliations, and social media profiles. From there, you can suggest a relevant next action based on individual donor preferences and passions.
There are several CRMs out there and it can be easy to get overwhelmed with so many options. To assess your CRM needs, ask these questions:
What are my organization’s goals? Refer to your mission statement and accompanying objectives to decipher your goals based on your organization’s purpose and size.
How big is my organization? Take a look at your contact list, how many emails you send, and your revenue baseline metrics. Then, consider your revenue goals for the coming years to get an idea of how much growth you’re likely to achieve.
How much data needs to be migrated? Migration determines CRM cost. If you have to collect data from multiple disparate sources, you will have a higher end cost.
Asking these questions ahead of time can help you narrow your search and decide on a scalable solution that best suits your specific needs. You might also decide to request a demo for multiple platforms to compare their capabilities.
Did any of these fundraising CRMs catch your eye? The providers listed above are some of our favorite solutions for nonprofit data management, donor relationships, automated communications, and more.
The more efficient your software, the more efficient your organization’s practices will be and the more you can do for your mission as a result. Good luck!
Check out these other educational resources to learn more about effective nonprofit fundraising and engagement strategies:
Nonprofit Storytelling: Best Practices for Fundraisers. Telling effective stories is one of the best ways to increase engagement with your audience and communicate the impact of your organization’s work. Check out these tips to learn more!
You’ve Never Heard of Volunteer Grants?! Learn the Basics. In addition to matching gifts, volunteer grants are another fantastic form of corporate philanthropy that allows nonprofit supporters to stretch their contributions further. Get started with this resource!
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/13-Top-Fundraising-CRMs_Feature_Resized.jpg350720Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-20 20:26:512024-11-15 14:48:3213 Top Fundraising CRMs for Nonprofit Organizations (Updated for 2023)
As a nonprofit professional, you likely already know the importance of tailoring your communications to your audience. After all, your organization is connected to many unique individuals—donors, volunteers, new supporters, nonprofit staff, and beneficiaries—you wouldn’t communicate with them all the same way.
The same principle applies to digital marketing. Your online presence should cater to specific audiences. But how do you make sure the right audiences see the right ads? By remarketing with the Google Ad Grant!
In this article, we’ll answer your most pressing remarketing questions and explore how it can transform your digital strategy. Read more
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Google-Ad-Grant-Remarketing_Feature-1compressed.jpg330715Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-18 18:51:172024-11-26 16:38:10Google Ad Grant Remarketing: Your Questions Answered
Through the Google Ad Grant, Google provides nonprofits with thousands of dollars in grant money to spend on marketing. However, from ensuring they’re eligible and applying for a grant to actually running an ad campaign, nonprofits need to do their research before they can get started with a Google Ad Grant.
Fortunately, resources dedicated to Google Ad Grant training are plentiful. Informational blog posts, webinars, and training courses are all available to help nonprofits maximize their ad grants’ potential.
Whether you need marketing advice or are looking for tips on how to apply for the grant, these four resources can help with all of your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant training needs.
Getting Attention
Getting Attention is a Google Ad Grants agency that helps nonprofits apply for the Google Ad Grant, run their ad campaigns, and maintain grant compliance. Along with these paid services, Getting Attention also hosts a regularly updated blog with free educational content that nonprofits can access at any time.
The content hosted on Getting Attention is sourced from a variety of experts in the nonprofit field, ensuring the tips and best practices shared reflect the views of a number of professionals. Content also varies widely in length, from quick tips to some of the most comprehensive deep dives on nonprofit best practices around.
What you can learn
Getting Attention’s blog covers a variety of topics, including:
Google Ad Grant basics. Getting Attention’s guides on the Google Ad Grant cover everything from eligibility requirements and how to apply to choosing your campaign’s target keywords and creating the most effective ad possible.
Nonprofit marketing strategies. Learn how to develop Google ad campaigns that will result in more clicks with articles. Along with advice for running an ad campaign, Getting Attention also provides resources on social media marketing, developing a brand identity, and how to optimize your overall nonprofit communication strategy.
Agency and consulting assistance. Nonprofits interested in working with a Google Ad Grant agency or a nonprofit marketing consulting firm can find advice on how to research consultants, assess them, submit requests for proposals, and form long-lasting partnerships.
Awareness and advocacy campaign tips. Wondering how you can use the Google Ad Grant to promote an advocacy campaign? Getting Attention’s blog features articles on planning an advocacy campaign, keeping supporters engaged, and marketing a campaign online.
And much more. Nonprofits looking for advice on managing volunteers, accepting stock donations, hosting hybrid events, creating an effective donation page, and a variety of other nonprofit-centric topics can likely find a helpful article on Getting Attention’s blog.
Cost
All blog content on Getting Attention’s website is free.
If you’re interested in Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grants services, get in touch to schedule a free consultation.
Google for Education
Google for Education is a collection of video courses created by Google for a variety of audiences, including teachers, librarians, students, parents, job seekers, and business owners. Of these courses, nonprofits can learn from the program’s free lesson on the Google Ad Grant. These short training videos are a strong introduction for nonprofits that want to hear about Google Ad Grants directly from Google.
Marketing campaign planning. Learn how to develop a marketing campaign that will actively be helped by the Google Ad Grant. Google for Education explores how nonprofits can use their mission statement to derive marketing goals that are relevant to Google Ads.
Conversion tracking. Figure out what metrics to track and how to track them, such as adding HTML tags or linking your Smart Campaign to Google Analytics. The course walks through how to add Google Analytics to your campaign for less tech-savvy nonprofits.
Quality scores. Learn how to use Google’s quality score metric to better understand your campaigns’ overall value and relevance to your audience.
Cost
Google for Education’s resources are free. Just sign up with a Google account to access all of their content and track your progress through each course.
TechSoup Courses
One of the first steps to applying for the Google Ad Grant involves registering your nonprofit with TechSoup, a technical support organization focused on helping nonprofits. Given their role in the Google Ad Grant application process, the TechSoup team is highly familiar with Google Ad Grant training and offers a variety of courses, including one dedicated to the Google Ad Grant.
What you can learn
Nonprofits interested in using TechSoup as a training resource can discover:
How to apply for the Google Ad Grant. Get an in-depth view of what the Google Ad Grant is and how the application process works, including an overview of current policies for the grant.
Google Analytics best practices. Learn to set up and view data from Google Analytics to create a dashboard that’s effective for your nonprofit. With Google Analytics, you can more accurately understand your website’s traffic, providing data that can help you improve your Google Ad Grant campaigns.
A variety of other subjects. TechSoup provides courses on many nonprofit-specific topics, including how to apply for grants, use Adobe tools, host virtual events, analyze data, and more. Plus, TechSoup also offers seminars in Spanish and French for learners who primarily speak those languages.
Cost
Each of TechSoup’s courses has its own pricing, and their recorded seminar series on the Google Ad Grant costs $75 to access.
Udemy
Udemy hosts courses on a wide range of subjects, including how nonprofits can use the Google Ad Grant. These courses are usually multi-part video series and often include extra materials, such as knowledge quizzes, educational articles, and downloadable resources. Their course on the Google Ad Grant also comes with a certificate of completion after finishing the 1.5-hour video series.
What you can learn
Udemy’s Google Ad Grants training course provides information on:
Campaign best practices. Learn how to write strong copy for your ads that will lead to clicks, as well as how to expand the space your Google ads take up with Sitelink Extensions.
Keyword research. Get advice on how to conduct keyword research, strategically add keywords to your copy, create Adword groups around keyword themes, and leverage negative keywords.
Campaign maintenance. Download a checklist of tasks to perform every two or three weeks to ensure your Google Ad campaigns maintain compliance and how to fix campaigns that are not meeting expectations.
Cost
Udemy’s prices vary from course to course. Additionally, Udemy regularly offers discounts and promotions. For example, while the Google Ad Grant training course is normally $109.99, it has been on sale for as low as $30.00. Plus, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if the course does not meet your nonprofit’s needs.
Host impactful Google Ad Grants campaigns with the right training
The Google Ad Grant is an effective marketing tool that can get your nonprofit’s name in front of a large audience of potential supporters. To make the most of the opportunity the grant presents, ensure your team has the training they need to choose effective keywords, create outstanding ad copy, and ensure your ad campaigns are directed to the content you most want to promote.
If you’re looking for more training resources, start your search with these standout articles from Getting Attention’s free blog:
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/google-ad-grants-training_Feature.jpg7001450Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-17 21:15:352024-11-15 14:48:52Google Ad Grants Training: Top Resources and Courses
When you hear matching gifts, what do you think of?
Maybe it’s a major donor who matches contributions made during a big campaign. As a nonprofit professional, you might’ve even participated in one of those. But have corporate matching gifts ever occurred to you?
Many donors, including those who give to your organization, are eligible for matching gifts through their employers. However, nonprofits often underutilize this fundraising strategy.
As a Google Ad Grants agency, we understand the power of harnessing every tool at your disposal that can help your nonprofit fulfill its mission. That’s why we’ve answered some important questions about matching gifts so you can leverage this major fundraising power. Let’s jump right in!
1. What are corporate matching gifts?
Corporate matching gifts are a form of corporate philanthropy in which companies match donations their employees make to nonprofits.
That’s the simple version.
Matching gifts are essentially free money. They let donors maximize the impact of their gifts without reaching back into their own pockets. As a result, nonprofits can double or even triple their donation revenue.
2. How do matching gifts work?
Matching gift programs vary by company, but here is the process in a nutshell:
An individual donates to a nonprofit.
The individual checks to see if their employer will match their donation.
The employer verifies the donation with the nonprofit.
The employer matches the individual’s donation.
Many companies also have a policy around match ratios, minimum and maximum amounts, and employee/nonprofit eligibility. Let’s dive deeper into each of those categories.
Match Ratios
Most companies match at a 1:1 ratio, which means a dollar-for-a-dollar match. However, match ratios can span anywhere from 0.5:1 to 4:1. For example, a 1:1 match on a $50 donation means $100 total, while a 2:1 match on the same $50 gets you $150 total.
Minimum and Maximum Amounts
Companies also have minimum and maximum donation amounts that they’ll match. The most common minimum amount is $25, but these amounts range from $1 to $100. The maximum amounts have an even wider range. These amounts are often between $1,000 and $15,000, though amounts will still vary below and above that range.
Eligibility
Many companies have restrictions on the types of nonprofits and employees that are eligible to receive or request a matched donation.
For nonprofits, most 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible for matching gift programs, including educational institutions, arts and cultural organizations, environmental organizations, health and human services, and more. The most common restriction is usually religious organizations, but it’s still up to the company.
For employees, their eligibility also depends on the company’s guidelines. This can include full-time, part-time, and retired employees.
3. Is there a deadline to submit my matching gift request?
Within a set number of months. A company will match a gift up to a certain number of months after the donation is made. As an example, this could be three months after the date of the donation.
By the end of the calendar year. A company will match a gift within the calendar year of when the donation is made.
By the end of the calendar year, plus a grace period. A company will match donations made through the end of the calendar year, and then add on additional months for employees to submit a request. These grace periods usually go through the end of January, February, or March.
The more time that passes after a supporter makes a donation, the less likely they will be to submit a match request. That’s why you have to promote matching gift opportunities to them as soon as possible.
4. Why aren’t more nonprofits using matching gifts?
It turns out, much of the time, both nonprofits and donors don’t know about matching gifts.
For nonprofits, reasons include a lack of staff, resources, and time needed to zero in on matching gift revenue. Many times, organizations don’t know who a donor’s employer is or what their matching gift policy is.
For donors, most don’t even know that their company offers a matching gift program. Additionally, the process of getting their donation matched may seem way too complicated or unclear to get started with.
This means that approximately $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed every year. That’s money that could be reinvested into nonprofits to help support their operations and spread their missions.
5. Why are matching gifts important?
Beyond boosting your fundraising revenue, matching gifts can also help improve donor retention and engagement.
Just knowing that their donation will go twice as far encourages donors to give a larger gift at the outset. Similarly, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered at all. If you have a potential donor who’s on the fence about giving to your organization, promoting corporate matching gifts can give them the extra push they need to make their decision.
Here are some other eye-opening matching gift statistics to help put things in perspective:
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits that come with matching gifts. They encourage donors to give to your organization, while also boosting the initial gift amounts.
6. Which companies offer matching gifts?
Good news: There are more companies that match donations than you may think.
Some of the top matching gift companies include Microsoft, Apple, Google, The Home Depot, and Disney. Many of these companies offer high maximum match limits and match donations to most types of nonprofits. For example:
Microsoft matches up to $15,000 in donations to most nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio for full- and part-time employees.
Disney matches up to $25,000 in donations to most nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio for full- and part-time employees.
Apple matches up to $10,000 in donations to most nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio for full- and part-time employees.
This is only a snapshot of the many matching gift companies out there, and it’s not just large corporations handing out money. These companies range in size and guidelines, which is why it’s essential that you understand where your donors work to get in on this funding source.
7. How can my organization promote matching gifts?
We’ve made it clear that a lack of awareness is a big issue when it comes to matching gifts. So how can your organization market matching gifts to your donors?
We’ll cover some of the top marketing methods below!
Google Ad Grants
Did you know Google offers eligible nonprofits $10,000 in monthly ad credits to promote their websites? The Google Ad Grant is a great marketing tool for promoting matching gifts.
Since the Google Ad Grant program requires you to set up ad campaigns with specific goals, you can create a campaign for promoting matching gifts. Then, you can create ads directing users to your matching gift page to encourage them to participate.
At Getting Attention, we’re committed to helping nonprofits navigate Google Ad Grants, from determining program eligibility to managing ad campaigns. We’d be happy to consult with you to determine how we can best serve your Google Ad Grant needs.
Email Outreach
Email outreach takes a few different forms: confirmation emails, newsletters, thank-you letters, and more. When you send out these types of messages, it’s important to mention matching gifts.
Here’s some text you can include in your thank-you email after a donor has contributed to your cause:
Thank you for supporting our organization! Did you know that many companies match their employees’ donations to our nonprofit? Check your eligibility and access the appropriate forms and instructions to submit a match today!
You can even include a link to learn more about matching gifts within your email.
Social Media
Social media impacts donors—in fact, 32% of donors who give online say that social media is the channel that most inspires them to give.
Whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms, be sure to include links that direct supporters to the information they’ll need to submit a match request to their employer.
Donation Page
When supporters are already on your donation page, that means they’re serious about donating to your cause. Since donors are most engaged at this step, this is the perfect time to promote matching gifts.
Prompt your donors to figure out their eligibility for a matching donation through their employer. This can be done by including a brief piece of information about matching gifts or even by embedding a matching gift search tool on your form.
At Getting Attention, we’re committed to helping nonprofits navigate the Google Ad Grant program, from determining program eligibility to managing ad campaigns. We’d be happy to consult with you in order to best serve your Google Ad Grant needs.
Dedicated Matching Gift Page
By creating a dedicated matching gift page, you can provide donors with general educational information about matching gifts, as well as company-specific matching gift forms, guidelines, and instructions.
Having a specific page that houses all of the information donors need will make it easier for supporters to submit a match request. You can send donors there through social media posts, emails, and other types of communication.
Matching Gift Search Tool
By investing in matching gift software that offers access to a matching gift database, you’ll hand-deliver donors updated and comprehensive information about their employer’s matching gift guidelines and forms.
8. How can I educate my team about matching gifts?
Many nonprofits don’t spend time educating their staff about matching gift programs. This is especially true for organizations that don’t realize the impact matching gifts can have on their revenue.
That’s why we’ve rounded up some effective steps that you can take to get your team up to speed:
Target the right staff members. This includes staff members who are in charge of campaigns and events, finances, and marketing. For example, campaign and event organizers can advertise matching gifts in their communications with attendees while finance staff can track and report on matching gift revenue. Your marketing team can then promote matching gifts across all communications.
Provide educational resources. Offer resources to educate your team about matching gifts so they’re more receptive to the information. This way, they’ll know what there is to know about matching gifts and can answer questions from donors.
Make matching gifts part of onboarding. Train new team members on the matching gift process so they know about them from the outset. You can also give out one-pagers, set up calls or meetings, and attend webinars to help educate all current staff.
Educating your new staff members and giving those refreshers to your entire team will help make matching gifts more effective across your organization. Be sure to offer helpful resources that they can access and provide training so they’re ready to handle anything matching gift-related that comes across their desk. For example, Double the Donation has a case studies resource that you can download below to help educate your team about the power of matching gifts.
9. How do I get leadership support for matching gifts?
In addition to rallying your team around matching gifts, you’ll also need to focus attention on getting leadership support. Without backing from leadership, it may be more challenging to get your staff on board in the first place.
First and foremost, you need to help leadership see the value in matching gifts. This momentum will then trickle down to the rest of your staff.
Using internal data. Rather than talking about the value of matching gifts, show the impact they can have on your organization through data. Highlight information about your number of match-eligible donations versus actual submitted matches, total revenue raised from matching gifts, and the number of donors who work for matching gift companies.
Spending time developing a strategy. Take a few hours a month to develop your matching gift strategy, and then encourage your leadership to do the same. This way, you’ll make your strategies even more effective.
Holding short meetings with leadership. Schedule short, 15-minute meetings that respect your leadership team’s time but that still allow you to demonstrate the value of matching gifts. Explain the basics of matching gifts, their impact, and their benefits. Then, schedule future meetings to report back on your progress and growth.
When your leadership is on board with your matching gift plan, your entire team will be more willing to work toward your matching gift goals. Get them excited about the prospect of a huge donation revenue increase.
10. What is a matching gift database?
Even after you’ve gotten support for matching gifts across your organization, there’s still more that can be done to build up your matching gift revenue.
Making the investment in matching gift software can provide just the boost you need to drive those match-eligible donations to completion. More specifically, a matching gift database can give you access to information about thousands of company matching gift programs.
How does a matching gift database work?
A matching gift database is easily accessible via a search pool plugin. This plugin can go anywhere on your website, including donation forms and dedicated matching gift pages, and allows donors to search for their eligibility in seconds.
Here’s how it works:
The donor accesses the search tool on your website.
The donor types their employer’s name into the search tool.
The search tool then populates with information about their employer’s matching gift program.
If you’re looking for effective matching gift software, check out Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools.
Double the Donation offers a powerful matching gift automation tool called Double the Donation Matching. Organizations can embed the matching gift search tool anywhere on their website. From there, donors can access Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift database, which houses information on more than 20,000 companies and subsidiaries and their matching gift programs.
Double the Donation Matching also scans information donors provide during the donation process, determines their matching gift eligibility, and triggers automated emails that outline the next steps specific to the donor.
Plus, Double the Donation Matching integrates with more than 60 of the leading nonprofit CRMs, peer-to-peer fundraising software, and donation software, so it’s an excellent choice if you’re already using one or more of those tools.
According to a matching gifts report by Top Nonprofits, only 6.7% of organizations they surveyed got a perfect score on their matching gift scoring criteria.
However, the two organizations out of 30 total that received a perfect score use Double the Donation Matching to help them identify and follow up on matching gift opportunities. Using this tool from Double the Donation can help you zero in on more match-eligible donations, see those matches through to completion, and boost your overall revenue.
11. What is the donor side of matching gifts like?
As you collect donations from your supporters, their experience throughout the process can determine whether you retain their support. That’s why it’s important to streamline your entire donation process, including your matching gift efforts.
First, you should make sure you understand the matching gift lifecycle:
A donor makes a gift to a nonprofit.
The nonprofit follows up with the donor about matching gifts, and the donor submits a request to their company.
The nonprofit verifies the donation with the matching gift company.
The nonprofit follows up and cultivates a relationship with the donor.
After you’ve successfully identified each stage of the matching gift lifecycle, you can then focus on improving each of these steps to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible for your donors.
Evaluating Your Current Donation Process
As donors give to your organization, do they see helpful resources about matching gifts? If not, the time of the donation is a prime opportunity to educate them.
This is where that embeddable matching gift search tool comes in handy. Allow donors to use the search tool during the donation stage so they can immediately take action.
Following Up About Matching Gifts
Once donors have submitted their donation, follow up and let them know that their gift can go twice as far! If they haven’t submitted a match request to their employer, now is a perfect time to send a follow-up email to get the ball rolling.
Again, if you choose to use a tool like Double the Donation Matching, you can automate this process. This matching gift platform will automatically email donors on your behalf with the information they need to figure out their eligibility.
You can even go beyond email outreach by calling donors. Consider making phone calls to a narrowed-down list of high-value matching gift donors who are more likely to submit a match request. Phone calls take more of your staff’s time, but being selective about who you call can add a meaningful human touch to your matching gift outreach.
Streamlining Your Verification Process
While the verification process might seem straightforward enough, many organizations might run into issues with understanding the process. Verifying the original donation with a matching gift company means familiarizing your team with the corporate giving platforms that companies are using.
Some of these top corporate giving platforms include Benevity, YourCause, and CyberGrants. Understanding the guidelines for each of these major vendors will help you respond to verification requests quickly and avoid missing out on any matching dollars. Be sure to educate your staff so they understand how the verification process works.
Thanking Your Donors
Thanking your donors should go without saying, but it’s still something we have to emphasize. Use your automation tools to thank your donors not only following their donation but also after you’ve received the match from their employer. This will help you cultivate the relationships you need to continue growing and serving your mission as a nonprofit.
For high-value donors, think about even more personalized approaches to give your thanks. Handwritten letters, eCards, and phone calls from senior leadership staff are just a sampling of the channels you can use.
Reviewing how your nonprofit handles the matching gift lifecycle can help you streamline the matching gift process for donors. Make it as easy as possible for donors to submit their matching gift requests, and then follow up to make sure they understand what the next steps are.
12. My organization has multiple chapters or affiliates. How should I go about the matching gift process?
For many organizations, encouraging matching gifts means keeping track of your donors’ employers and having a set process in place for outreach.
However, larger organizations that have multiple chapters or affiliates may run into issues when setting up their matching gift process.
These types of organizations can consolidate their matching gift process. According to Double the Donation, consolidation means that each chapter or affiliate will follow a central process to secure matching gifts. Here are some top tips on how you can do this:
Choose how you’ll consolidate. Whether this is on a national level, a regional level, or independent by chapters, you’ll want to base this decision on how consistent you want your donor experience to be and how you want reporting to take place.
Develop an action plan. Your action plan should include understanding your current process, putting together a matching gift team, optimizing the verification process, and determining your revenue goals.
Standardize the follow-up process. Set clear guidelines to ensure individual chapters are identifying and following up with match-eligible donors. This way, you can continue the conversation around matching gifts and create a more consistent donor experience.
Standardize the overall process. Beyond following up, select someone who can keep your organization on track to help standardize the process across chapters or affiliates. And don’t forget to make it positive! Help each section of your organization see the benefits of consistency.
These strategies can make a huge difference if your organization runs in multiple locations. A consistent process will help your teams avoid missing out on matching gift opportunities and create specific guidelines each unit should follow.
13. Are matching gifts the only type of corporate giving?
In addition to matching gifts, there are many other types of corporate philanthropy. From monetary grants for volunteer hours to programs that take place on the corporate side, here are some of the top corporate giving programs:
Volunteer Grants
Also known as “Dollars for Doers” programs, volunteer grants are a type of corporate philanthropy in which companies provide monetary grants to organizations where their employees regularly volunteer.
Here’s how volunteer grants work:
An individual volunteers with a nonprofit.
The individual tracks their hours and submits a request for a volunteer grant with their company.
The company verifies the hours with the nonprofit.
The company provides a check to the nonprofit.
If you already have a dedicated group of volunteers, encourage them to check their eligibility for a volunteer grant. You might be able to get some extra corporate dollars this way.
Fundraising Matches
Fundraising matches are similar to matching gifts in that donations are matched by a company.
The difference?
Fundraising matches apply to fundraising events, like walk-a-thons or 5Ks. The event participant’s employer will then match the money the participant raises through sponsorships or other donations.
Automatic Payroll Deductions
One of the simplest forms of corporate giving is automatic payroll deductions. Through this corporate giving program, employees have a portion of their paychecks donated to a nonprofit on a regular basis.
Specific companies may have guidelines on which organizations they’ll donate to. Typically, the organization has to share similar values with the company, like environmental causes or other issues. Once your organization has been approved, this is a great source of recurring donations.
In-Kind Donations
Many companies donate more than just money to nonprofits. Some also provide in-kind donations, which means goods or services. To give you an example, a company might donate computers, consulting services, or even food to organizations.
In-kind donations not only benefit nonprofits, but they also give companies a sense of pride in helping a worthy cause.
14. Where can I learn more about matching gifts?
Now that we’ve answered the most common matching gift questions, you should have a deeper understanding of what matching gifts are. You can now start encouraging matching gifts from your supporters and watch your donation revenue increase exponentially.
If you need some additional information about matching gifts before you get started with them, we’ve compiled some helpful resources below:
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Matching-Gifts_Feature-1.jpg350725Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-17 16:05:442024-12-17 18:21:3214 Important Matching Gifts Questions You Need to Ask
When it comes to marketing your nonprofit’s mission and connecting with donors on a deeper level, nothing is better than an engaging story.
Your nonprofit storytelling needs to capture your audience’s attention, clearly explain the problem you’re facing, and empower supporters to be a part of the solution. Ultimately, it should inspire donations and other forms of support. In this guide, we’ll walk through:
Because nonprofit storytelling is a critical component of your overall marketing strategy, it’s essential to hone your skills. Let’s get started!
Why Is Nonprofit Storytelling Important?
It’s hard to forget a good story. While we might not remember the specific facts or details, storytelling is still one of the best ways to connect with other humans and share an experience.
Additionally, studies show that roughly 70% of companies invest in content marketing to convey stories to their audiences. With so many organizations investing in this method, there are clearly real benefits to using storytelling in marketing strategies.
Storytelling Benefits To Your Nonprofit
Here are the top benefits a dedicated nonprofit storytelling strategy can bring you:
Increased fundraising revenue. Your nonprofit’s storytelling efforts can be the exact conduit you need to inspire donors to give. The key to motivating them to give is to land your story in front of the right audiences.
Improved click-through rate and online conversions. Because stories tend to be more engaging, you’ll likely see an increase in the number of people who click on your website, social media posts, or Google Ads.
Larger membership base. Does your nonprofit organization have a membership program dedicated to your most passionate supporters? Nonprofit storytelling is one of the best ways to attract membership candidates who connect deeply to your cause.
Better donor appreciation.Donor appreciation is a critical component of building lasting relationships and increasing retention. Instead of just sending a bland thank you email, incorporate storytelling to share a thought-provoking, real story about how their support made a difference.
Another key benefit of nonprofit storytelling is that your supporters will be more informed about your cause and your organization’s needs. Seeing the impact of your work through testimonials from beneficiaries will remind them of the good that their contributions enable.
What Are The Elements Of Nonprofit Storytelling?
Compelling Characters
Every good story needs a hero. For your nonprofit story, you’ll need a compelling character to act as the main lead and inspire support.
This “character” should be a real person who has been impacted by your nonprofit in some way. For example, you might choose to center one of these supporters in your story:
A beneficiary who is willing to share their personal story
A staff member
To translate details about these supporters or beneficiaries to your audience, you’ll need to use more traditional storytelling methods. Here are some ways to capture their personalities and emotions on screen or paper:
Establish a face and name. Put a face to this individual by attaching a photo and name to the story. This instantly makes the story feel more personal to viewers.
Give them a distinct voice. Make your character feel three-dimensional to your audience by highlighting personal details. Show off their unique way of speaking about their experiences or their background that led them to engage with your nonprofit.
Show how they were impacted by your organization. The resolution for this story should be shaped by your nonprofit’s involvement in the character’s life. Clearly show how your organization led them to this key moment.
For example, Feeding America includes these stories from Native American women working towards food security on their website. The nonprofit includes their names, a photo of them, and an explanation of how they are supporting the cause:
When you involve real people in your stories, remember to consider the ethics of the story you’re telling. As the nonprofit, you are in a position of power—especially if the subject is a beneficiary. Lead with their best interests first, and never indicate that your services are contingent upon their participation in the storytelling campaign. Everything presented in the campaign must be honest and transparent.
Dramatic Arc
The dramatic arc is what hooks your audience, gets them invested in your narrative, and empowers them to play their own role in the story.
Here are the five main elements of a dramatic arc:
Exposition. Introduce your character and establish goals related to your mission. If your mission is to provide clean water, for example, one of your character’s goals could be ensuring that his family stays healthy after getting sick from dirty water.
Conflict. Here, you’ll present the challenge that your character is facing. The conflict should be related to the problem your nonprofit is trying to solve. In our water example, this could be that the family’s water source was polluted with chemicals. Consider all the obstacles your character might face, like a lack of resources or policy knowledge.
Rising action. Next, lay out the stakes and explain why the problem is a problem. You might also highlight previous attempts to solve the issue. For instance, you might say that the local town has needed clean water for a while, but an increase in spills from nearby factories has made it difficult to keep the infrastructure in place.
Climax. This is where you’ll explain how the problem got fixed and the exact role that your nonprofit plays. What did your nonprofit do? What was the specific action that made the difference? For example, with help from your annual fundraising campaign, your nonprofit was able to build a clean water infrastructure system that is easy to fix and regulated yearly.
Resolution. Show the newly improved life of the character in your story. Urge the audience to play a part by calling them to donate, share a message, or volunteer.
As you’re crafting your story, remember to be as clear as possible about the goals of the character, the challenges they face, and how exactly your nonprofit and audience can help. These are the most important aspects of the story, and they need to shine through for your nonprofit to make an impact.
Solution
The solution to your story provides proof that your organization truly makes a difference. When explaining your solution, you should:
Empower the donors to be a part of the story by making the next action they should take clear.
Use language that creates a sense of urgency by mentioning a specific deadline and explaining what would happen if your nonprofit is unable to act.
Make it convenient for the audience to take action by including a donation button, link to signup forms, or social sharing buttons with your request.
For example, Step Up For Students created a blog post highlighting the story of a scholarship recipient attending Notre Dame who achieved salutatorian status in his class (note the prominent donation button in the sidebar!):
4 Best Practices To Take Your Nonprofit’s Storytelling To The Next Level
1. Support a Specific Goal
Make sure you have a specific goal or action at the center of your narrative. The goal you pick will depend on your unique needs and audience, but here are some examples to get the ball rolling:
Raise $10,000 in revenue as a direct result of the storytelling campaign.
Grow your membership program by 100 members.
Send personalized thank-you messages to each donor within one week of their gift.
To improve your fundraising strategy beyond this single campaign, look at your database and make note of engagements or key performance indicators (KPIs) that are falling short. Then, craft a story to support that area, and make sure to note it as a priority for future marketing efforts.
Making supporters feel something is the main conduit to whether or not they will feel passionate about your mission and decide to give.
This example from the ASPCA’s homepage makes an emotional appeal by using images of the animals that they work to aid, asking supporters to help them:
Before you can activate your own supporters’ empathy, it’s key to understand your audience so you know why donors choose to support your cause. Analyze data about your supporters like their past philanthropic involvement, political contributions, and demographic information to get a feel for their personal values. Then, pinpoint those values in your story.
To make an emotional appeal, make sure to closely follow and highlight your character’s emotions. Aim to center their perspective so your audience feels like they are walking in the supporter or beneficiary’s shoes. To immerse them in the story, remember to describe sensory details like sounds, smells, and feelings.
3. Use Visuals
Visuals help evoke emotion from your audience, leave a lasting impression in your supporters’ minds, and build your organization’s brand.
The best part is that visuals can take so many forms nowadays and can supplement your storytelling in different ways:
Photos. Images bring a real face to the story you’re telling, helping supporters understand that their help is impacting real people. At your next fundraising event or volunteer opportunity, make sure to take photos (and get permission to use them).
Infographics. These graphics convey a wide breadth of information in an easily digestible format. Ideas include using charts, maps, reports, and other fun graphics to help your audience visualize data and understand your impact.
Look through your own arsenal of marketing materials and determine if any of your visuals are viable for use in your nonprofit story.
4. Leverage Video Content
In a 2023 study, 91% of people surveyed said that they want to see more online videos from organizations—satisfy this demand with your storytelling strategies.
To create an effective video, follow these best practices:
Keep on-screen text to a minimum. Narrate the video as much as you can so participants don’t have to read long paragraphs. If you need to use on-screen text, stick to about 60 words per minute of the video and allow for one second of read time for every two to three words.
Make the video cohesive. Make sure the music and supporting media (like images or copy) match the overall theme of the story. These added elements can go the extra mile in making your supporters feel a certain way.
Consider accessibility. Be sure to add closed captions to the video for any spoken dialogue or other sounds (hint: platforms like YouTube can do this automatically!). Not only does this make the video content accessible to more of your supporters, but people can view the video without audio and still understand your message.
For inspiration, check out this video from the World Wildlife Fund. It shows the importance of each tiny piece of an ecosystem and encourages people to “love it” by supporting WWF (or risk losing it):
Apply for the Google Grant with Getting Attention
Spreading awareness of your nonprofit and reaching new people with your carefully crafted stories will be the final, often most difficult, step in nonprofit storytelling. Traditional marketing channels like television can be costly, and you might feel overwhelmed by the vastness of digital marketing.
To receive professional help and get $10,000 in Google Ads for free, consider working with a Google Ad Grants agency.
If you aren’t familiar, the Google Grant is a program hosted by Google that gives $10,000 in Google Ad credits to nonprofit organizations each month. The purpose of this grant is to help nonprofits promote valuable digital content (like your stories!) to their supporters.
To gain access to the program, your nonprofit will need to apply, maintain compliance, target relevant keywords, and manage multiple ad campaigns. Getting Attention is a Google Ad Grant agency that’s ready to help you apply and manage your Google Ad campaigns.
Additional Resources
People are inspired by, learn from, and remember stories. Your nonprofit already has a compelling story: a built-in goal (mission) and antagonist (issue) to drive the narrative forward and captivate your audience members. Take advantage of this story waiting to be told in your next campaign.
To learn more about how you can level up your nonprofit marketing, explore these additional resources:
If you’re a nonprofit professional, you know just how important donations are to your organization. You may receive funds in other ways, such as grants or sponsorships, but consistent donations will launch you toward your fundraising goals.
Making your case to donors through presentations and one-on-one meetings is extremely effective because it allows you to start an in-person dialogue with donors and gather audience feedback. While other outreach methods such as emails and phone calls permit you to reach donors where they are, presentations and meetings allow for a more personalized, hands-on approach to increasing donations.
When you’re making your case to donors in a presentation or meeting, you want to make your cause stand out and prove why it’s important for them to contribute. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help encourage donations, including:
With these five tips in mind, you can strengthen your relationships with donors and motivate them to give back to your cause.
1. Get to know your donors.
When you understand your donors on a deeper level, you can offer more personalized messages and calls to action. Communicate with donors frequently through a variety of methods to learn more about them and gather feedback. These outreach methods may include email check-ins, annual surveys, phone calls, and social media direct messages.
The more you know about your donors, the better you can reach them. Ask them what interests them most about your nonprofit. Your organization may offer many different services, but matching each donor to the service they’re most passionate about will allow you to personalize your communications when it’s time to ask for donations.
You can store this information along with any other relevant demographic data in a donor data platform. NPOInfo explains that when you store all donor information in one place, it streamlines your communication with donors. You can reference this information to pick up donor communications where they left off and make sure each outreach point builds on previous conversations.
2. Incorporate storytelling.
When you speak to donors, you want to make your message as engaging as possible. That’s where storytelling comes in.
As Be Brilliant explains it, using storytelling in a presentation gives some individuality to your case. For example, you might not be the only animal shelter out there, but what makes yours unique? Perhaps your pet adoption program is so successful because of your organization’s unique pet-matching program that matches people with pets using a personality quiz. You might tell a story about an individual who came in looking for a pet with specific traits and found the perfect new furry family member for their needs.
Instead of drawing on generalities about your organization, use a story to show off exactly what your organization does. Plus, stories are better at eliciting emotions, which can motivate your donors to take action.
3. Create a sense of urgency.
Your supporters may feel connected to your organization, but if they don’t feel inclined to donate immediately, they’ll likely put it off and eventually forget to show their support. The two most popular times to donate tend to be the end of the year giving season and during major crises. However, this tendency can leave your nonprofit feeling strapped for cash in between popular donation times.
To solve this problem, create a sense of urgency surrounding donations. You do important work all year long, and you need regular donations in order to support it. Setting deadlines for donations pushes people to take action quickly.
Another way to create urgency is to connect your case to a relevant campaign or seasonal event. When donors see the larger initiative attached to your request, they may be more inclined to donate. For example, designated giving days like GivingTuesday that have hard deadlines can inspire quick responses.
Lastly, be extremely specific about what action you want your donors to take. When you write a clear and easy call to action, you’re more likely to inspire a quick response. Include all details potential donors will need to contribute to your cause, including a donation link.
4. Make it clear where donations are going.
When people give to an organization, they want to know exactly what their donation is going toward. That way, they can see the impact they’ve made and feel proud of their contribution.
The more specific you can get about the impact someone’s donation will have, the better. For example, instead of stating that donations will help animals in the shelter live a better life, share that the funds raised in the next month will go toward building a new outdoor space where dogs can get a break from the cramped conditions inside.
If you’re planning a live presentation for donors, this should be the bulk of your presentation. Make your current initiatives more tangible for donors with thorough explanations, infographics, pictures, and videos.
5. Add credibility to your case.
One of the biggest challenges of marketing your cause is establishing trustworthiness. It can be difficult for donors to trust an organization they may have never heard of or contributed to before.
However, there are ways to show that your organization is credible. For example, one of the best ways to gain trust when promoting your cause is to display donor testimonials. Ask some of your top supporters to share their experiences with your organization. Adding quotes from real people associated with your nonprofit will help verify your organization’s credibility.
Other strategies to demonstrate credibility include mentioning any seals of approval your organization has received and creating graphics that show exactly where your money comes from and where it goes.
Since nonprofits heavily depend on donations, it’s important to show donors your cause is worthy of their unwavering support. Consider implementing these tips to bolster your case to donors in presentations and meetings and encourage more donations.
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Be-Brilliant-Presentation-Group_Getting-Attention_Making-Your-Case-to-Donors-Top-5-Tips-to-Increase-Donations_Feature.jpg350725Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-11 21:24:442024-11-15 14:49:13Making Your Case to Donors: Top 5 Tips to Increase Donations
Did you know 92% of nonprofit marketers use some form of content marketing? That’s because it works! Blogging is an easy, effective way to boost your online presence. Nonprofit blogs use a mix of storytelling techniques to attract donors, increase audience engagement, and establish authority.
At Getting Attention, we help nonprofits elevate their online marketing efforts through Google Ad Grant optimization. That said, through those efforts, we’ve seen firsthand what can make or break a nonprofit’s blog! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the following information, including the importance of nonprofit blogs as well as best practices for curating content:
At the end of the guide, we’ll explore some note-worthy examples of blogs in the nonprofit space to kick off your brainstorming and make blogging a valuable part of your marketing plan. Let’s get started.
Overview of Nonprofit Blogs
Nonprofit blogs are dedicated resources hosted on the websites of charitable organizations, fundraising professionals and consultants, and nonprofit software companies. Blogs can range in style and content, from educational guides and industry updates to current events and impact stories. But each nonprofit blog shares a common goal: driving traffic to the organization’s website.
A nonprofit blog acts as a powerful search engine optimization (SEO) tool. While your main website provides the basic information for your mission and goals, your blog should explore topics that potential supporters might search for on Google. When your blog consistently posts valuable content that’s optimized for highly-searched keywords, it will become a go-to resource that ranks highly on search engine result pages and attracts new prospects.
If you find yourself asking, “Does my nonprofit need a blog?” the answer is likely yes! Blogging is an easy, effective way to stand out and engage with your audience. Since charitable organizations rely on raising awareness, blogs can help your organization to:
Promote your brand. A nonprofit blog is essentially free advertising. Spread the word about your nonprofit’s impact through engaging content.
Provide regular updates to your audience. Blogs allow nonprofits to easily publish content with updates about accomplishments, campaigns, and events.
Share your content and mission across platforms. The more content you have on the web, the more likely it is that someone will come across your mission and take action.
Establish your authority. Show potential donors that you’re an expert in the field by using your blog to discuss topics related to your mission.
For more information on the benefits of blogging, read our article dedicated to the basics of nonprofit marketing blogs. Then, learn how to write a successful nonprofit blog in the next section.
How to Write a Nonprofit Blog
Now that you’ve decided to start a blog for your nonprofit, you’re left with the task of creating content. You may struggle with narrowing down topics, attracting an audience, and standing out against other nonprofit blogs.
Don’t fret! Nearly 64% of nonprofit content marketers publish blogs regularly, meaning it’s a popular and manageable undertaking. Use this simple step-by-step guide to help your nonprofit write an effective blog.
Step 1: Consider the goals of your blog.
Before you begin writing content, determine how the blog will tie into your marketing strategy. Host a meeting with your team to consider the short and long-term goals of the blog. The first question you should ask is “What do we hope to achieve through our marketing efforts?”
Create a list of 3-5 priorities for your nonprofit blog. Tactical goals include building brand awareness, attracting volunteers, increasing fundraising, and encouraging email signups, among others. Consider the following examples:
If increasing your ranking on search engine result pages is a priority for your nonprofit, you should strive to include targeted keywords in your blogs.
If your nonprofit wants to decrease bounce rates, you should focus on displaying a pop-up with downloadable content when a user is about to leave a blog post.
If generating donations is of high importance, your blog should explain the need for funding and highlight your impact.
This process will help your team determine its short and long-term goals. After carefully considering your objectives, you’re ready to create a content strategy that will drive your nonprofit’s objectives.
Step 2: Create a content strategy.
A content strategy defines content-related decisions, including which blog posts you’ll write and when. Once you determine your goals, consider how content will fit into your marketing funnel. Which topics should be addressed at the top of the funnel to raise awareness? What subjects need to be covered to facilitate conversions?
Making a content strategy that works for your nonprofit will help you to create consistently strong content. Let’s review the three main elements of a content strategy that are especially important for nonprofit blogs:
Audience: Test whether blog posts work with your audience by looking into demographic and behavioral information. Determining the characteristics of your average supporter can help you to better understand the needs of your audience. If your blog resonates with your target audience, you’ll see more shares and higher search rankings.
Tone: Consider how you want to convey your nonprofit’s tone in a blog. Tone refers to how your words translate to an audience. Do you want to come across as casual and conversational? We recommend creating a style guide for all staff at your organization to maintain consistency.
Production: Consider how content will fit into your marketing funnel. Which topics should be addressed at the top of the funnel to raise awareness? What bottom-of-the-funnel subjects need to be covered to facilitate conversions? Decide which types of content should be produced (i.e. an educational guide with fundraising ideas or a news story relating to your mission). You also need to determine who will write the content and where you will promote it.
Content strategies will be a go-to resource for your team, clarifying how, when, where, and why you will create content. Aligning content plans with your overall goals will improve your organization’s marketing efforts and help you create the most effective content.
Step 3: Create content.
Once you set your goals and establish a clear content strategy, you’re faced with the challenge of content creation. Keep in mind that blog posts of around 2,000 words have the highest SEO and social sharing rates. When creating your own content, keep the following writing tips in mind:
Keep paragraphs short. Don’t overwhelm readers with lengthy, dense content. Make information easy to digest by keeping paragraphs to 3-4 sentences.
Include calls-to-action. Call-to-action (CTA) buttons prompt readers to show their support and take the initiative to help your mission. Keep phrases short and compelling, as in the following example: “Do you want to help animals in need? Donate now.”
Use headers, bullet points, and numbered lists. Strong headlines will capture your audience’s attention and help to break up long sections of text. Bullet points and numbered lists allow readers to quickly scan through your blog post and retain information.
Add compelling visuals. Images, graphics, and videos can spark an emotional reaction in readers and help them to understand complex topics. Ensure that visuals are consistently formatted and high quality.
Optimize with keywords. SEO keywords increase traffic to your website. Aim to include at least 15 to 30 keywords in each blog post to push readers down the engagement funnel.
If you don’t have enough time to write your own content, you can still update your audience and support your marketing goals through content curation. Content curation is the process of selecting, editing, and publishing content from external sources. Just remember to never reproduce external content without identifying your source and adding your own expertise.
Step 4: Market your blog.
Now it’s time to make your nonprofit blog stand out! From email to social media, there are multiple marketing channels to choose from, and each has its own strengths. Here are the most popular marketing channels:
Email is a personal, cost-effective way to reach large numbers of supporters. It’s great for sending invitations, thanking donors, providing general updates, and sharing blog content.
Social media is a popular place to boost brand awareness and attract donors. Channels like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok provide opportunities for your nonprofit to showcase its personality and engage with supporters. Aim to share each blog post across your nonprofit’s social media feeds.
Google Grants are $10,000 grants awarded to eligible charities for creating and hosting ad campaigns on Google. These free ads allow organizations to amplify their presence on search engine results pages (SERPs) and get their website content in front of the right eyes.
If a Google Grant seems like the best fit for your nonprofit blog, consider working with a certified agency like Getting Attention. Getting Attention’s team of experts offers free consultations and resources to help your organization plan a successful campaign strategy. Reach out to our team today to learn more!
It’s no secret that building a nonprofit blog takes time and effort. But the payoff—driving interested supporters to your mission—will be worthwhile! Whether launching your first blog or updating existing content, your nonprofit will benefit from these blogging best practices:
Post consistently. Posting regularly increases engagement. We recommend establishing an editorial calendar for your nonprofit blog. This will help your team keep track of blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, and other content deadlines.
Write long-form articles. Search engines and supporters tend to prefer pieces that exceed 1,000 words. Longer blog posts allow you to dig into complex subjects, include plenty of visuals, and become an authority in your field.
Feature experts. Including insights from other experts in your field adds a human element to your nonprofit and inspires your audience to get involved. You can feature thought leaders through guest posts or interviews.
Showcase impact. Make your blog engaging and insightful by showing your organization’s impact. This will keep donors, volunteers, and supporters invested in the mission and encourage them to heed your calls to action.
Use a multichannel marketing strategy to spread the word. We suggest taking a multi-channel marketing approach to promote your nonprofit blog. Cover all the bases by combining your email, social media, and SEO efforts.
These best practices will improve your search engine results and increase traffic to your nonprofit’s blog. Now let’s take a look at the nonprofit blogs that have successfully implemented these tips!
Best Nonprofit Blogs to Inspire You
With more than 500 million blogs worldwide, it can be difficult to sort through the seemingly endless sea of information. We’ve compiled a list of the best nonprofit blogs that managed to stand out using marketing strategies. From Getting Attention to Top Nonprofits, these nonprofit blogs are sure to inspire your next post!
Getting Attention
Getting Attention is made up of professional fundraising consultants dedicated to Google Ad Grant management. Getting Attention’s nonprofit marketing blog offers articles spanning a variety of essential nonprofit topics, from the basics of Google Grants to guides for planning a comprehensive nonprofit marketing plan.
Double the Donation
Double the Donation is an expert in matching gift funds, with the largest and most accurate database of matching gift and volunteer grant information in the nonprofit sector. Double the Donation’s dedicated blogroll consists of industry guides and nonprofit tips including corporate fundraising, general fundraising guides, and top software provider lists.
eCardWidget
eCardWidget provides eCard software that nonprofits can use to thank donors and spread awareness for their causes. The eCardWidget blog features key tips for supporter appreciation, fundraising ideas, and nonprofit software solutions.
re:Charity
re:Charity is a nonprofit blog dedicated to hosting fundraising resources, tips, best practices, industry guides, and software lists. There is a wide range of information on re:Charity, with specific blog categories dedicated to fundraising, marketing, technology, and nonprofit strategies.
Fundraising Letters
Fundraising Letters is a website committed to helping nonprofit leaders craft compelling and engaging communications with supporters. The Fundraising Letters blog allows professionals to peruse educational resources provided by thought leaders throughout the nonprofit industry.
Crowd101
Crowd101 hosts a wide variety of resources and blog posts to help fundraisers begin a crowdfunding event, market it effectively, and explore other fundraising tips. Their blog is a great resource with clearly defined sections like getting started with crowdfunding, crowdfunding examples, fundraising ideas, real estate crowdfunding information, and more!
NonprofitPRO
NonprofitPRO is a go-to source for nonprofit management and strategy which serves fresh, hard-hitting content. They cover a range of topics, including human resources, board and volunteer management, legal matters, news, and raising funds. NonprofitPRO’s blog effectively brings together thought leaders in the nonprofit industry, offering a wide range of tools and strategy guides to modern nonprofit professionals.
Get Fully Funded
Get Fully Funded is a step-by-step system for fundraising that teaches how to build a loyal donor base, inspire donors to give, and build relationships that keep them giving. Their dedicated team of professionals offers coaching, training, and support to fully fund your nonprofit. Get Fully Funded has an extensive blog site with weekly tips and tools to help you raise the money you need to grow your nonprofit.
Candid
Candid connects people who want to make a difference with the resources they need to do it. GuideStar, a data collection company, and Foundation Center joined forces to create Candid, a comprehensive database for nonprofits. Follow their blog for regularly updated information on how philanthropy responds to advancing racial equity and safeguarding democracy.
Nonprofit Hub
Nonprofit Hub is a national educational publication helping nonprofits grow their missions and better their organizations. It’s a great resource for thought leadership and resources on marketing, fundraising, and more! Each week, Nonprofit Hub publishes new blog content ranging from nonprofit branding to nonprofit web design.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
Nonprofit Tech for Good focuses on providing useful, easy-to-understand news and resources related to digital marketing and fundraising. 101 Best Practices is their blog and webinar series on website design, email marketing, online fundraising, and social media best practices for nonprofits, NGOs, and charities worldwide.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy explores the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, their print and online content targets charity leaders, foundation executives, fundraising professionals, and ordinary people involved in philanthropy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s blog is dedicated to honest conversations about what works and what doesn’t in the nonprofit sector.
Top Nonprofits
Top Nonprofits was founded to help nonprofits accelerate their growth through sharing information, tools, trends, and best practices. In this blog, you’ll learn about new frontiers in fundraising, best storytelling practices, tips for mission statements, and more!
Wrapping Up: Our Final Tip for Optimizing Your Nonprofit’s Marketing
The bottom line: running a nonprofit blog takes dedication, consistent writing, and a strong marketing strategy. If you follow best practices, your nonprofit will reap benefits like connecting to donors and increasing brand awareness.
Once you’re ready to promote your nonprofit blog, consider working with a trusted expert like Getting Attention. We’ll help you bring new supporters to your website through Google Ad Grant management and make the most of your Google Ad Grant.
Want to continue your research on nonprofit blogs? Explore these additional resources:
How to Start a Nonprofit Blog A nonprofit blog is not a simple or easy undertaking. It takes work to decide what and when to post and to build your audience. Follow this guide to get started.
Top 22 Nonprofit and Fundraising Blogs Are you ready to be inspired by the best in the business? Learn from top industry leaders by following the best nonprofit and fundraising blogs right now!
As of 2023, a record 91% of businesses use video as one of their marketing tools. Of the marketing professionals who don’t use video as part of their strategy, 18% shared that they weren’t sure how to get started. If your nonprofit is part of that 18%, then a good place to start is gaining a better understanding of the most ubiquitous video hosting platform on the internet: YouTube.
Founded in 2005, YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the internet, second only to Google, YouTube’s parent company. While there are other options for hosting and promoting video, most nonprofits rely on YouTube thanks to its large audience, intuitive interface, and nonprofit-friendly program, YouTube for Nonprofits.
To get your organization started with YouTube for Nonprofits, this guide will explore the basics of this marketing opportunity and how to make successful videos:
As you learn about YouTube for Nonprofits, talk with your marketing team, especially those who already have experience with video and YouTube. Work with them to brainstorm video ideas and determine what production scale would be possible based on your nonprofit’s resources. Then, when your nonprofit is approved and ready to start posting on YouTube, your marketing team can get straight to work supporting your digital fundraising campaigns with videos.
What is YouTube for Nonprofits?
YouTube for Nonprofits is Google’s program for nonprofits looking to fundraise on YouTube. While almost anyone can use YouTube to generate revenue after earning a certain number of subscribers, YouTube for Nonprofits gives 501(c)(3) organizations a headstart with the following features:
Link directly to your site from videos. Use YouTube’s Link Anywhere cards to add a small pop-up at the top of your video that links to any external page, including your nonprofit’s website and donation page.
Optimize your content. YouTube offers nonprofits guidance for how to make videos that will succeed on their platform with their social impact fundamentals, which we will discuss later, and tutorials on the YouTube Creator Academy.
Access dedicated technical support. As a YouTube Nonprofit Program partner, you can get faster access to YouTube technical support if you encounter any challenges setting up your channel.
Essentially, YouTube for Nonprofits will allow your organization to more effectively create videos and fundraise through the YouTube platform. But first, your organization must sign up for a Google for Nonprofits account.
How to Set Up Your YouTube for Nonprofits Account
Joining YouTube for Nonprofits is relatively easy, especially if your nonprofit already has a Google for Nonprofits account and a YouTube channel. If you don’t, just follow these steps:
Sign up for Google for Nonprofits.
Google for Nonprofits is a program that provides eligible charitable organizations with access to premium Google products and services, including Workspace, Ad Grants, and YouTube for Nonprofits.
Here is a complete list of all products and features organizations using Google for Nonprofits can access:
Be registered as a nonprofit in a country where Google for Nonprofits is available.
Agree to Google for Nonprofit’s terms of service.
Not be a government organization, hospital or healthcare organization, or school or educational institution
From there, request a Google for Nonprofits account. Just click “Get started,” and the system will walk you through the necessary steps. After that, their validation partners, TechSoup and Percent, may reach out to you if they have any questions or need additional documentation. Then, in 2-14 business days, you should receive verification.
Google Ad Grants
In addition to YouTube for Nonprofits, signing up for Google for Nonprofits is the first step toward applying for the Google Ad Grant. Google Ad Grants are monthly allocations of $10,000 that Google gives to nonprofits to run keyword ad campaigns.
Google Ads appear at the top of the search results page for related keywords, improving the chances that page visitors will see and click on the link. Nonprofits can use Google Ad Grants to promote almost any marketing campaign they have, including:
Attracting donors
Recruiting volunteers
Advertising services to constituents
Spreading awareness of their cause
Promoting an ongoing campaign
Applying for the Google Ad Grant does require an additional step of ensuring that your website is considered high-quality and ready for promotion. Ensure your website is optimized by implementing security measures, creating a user-friendly experience, and populating your site with valuable content.
Create a YouTube channel.
To activate your account, you’ll need your YouTube channel ID. Here’s how to find your channel ID or create a channel for your nonprofit if it doesn’t already have one:
To find your channel ID, sign into your nonprofit’s YouTube account, and click on your profile picture. Select “settings,” then “advanced settings.” Your channel ID will be displayed there.
To create a channel, log in to your nonprofit’s Google Account, and determine if your nonprofit uses a personal or Brand Account. If you are using a personal channel, you can simply sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture, and choose to create a channel. For a Brand Account, go to your account settings and select the Brand Account from the list. Fill out the necessary details, and click “Create.”
If you ever need to change the YouTube channel associated with YouTube for Nonprofits, log into Google for Nonprofits, navigate to YouTube for Nonprofits, and select “Change channel ID.”
Sign in to Google for Nonprofits and click “Get Started.”
The last step is to sign into Google for Nonprofits. Under “YouTube for Nonprofits,” will be a “Get Started” button you can click to activate your account. You will need to complete a few steps, such as providing your YouTube channel ID.
From there, Google will review your application in approximately three business days before sending an email confirming your account has been activated. You can then start using all of YouTube for Nonprofit’s features.
YouTube for Nonprofit’s Social Impact Fundamentals
YouTube shares the following philosophy toward social impact on their site:
From the beginning, we’ve always believed in the power of video storytelling to make a difference. It helps us feel deeply connected to a cause and empowered with the knowledge to take action on issues we care about. YouTube is the place you can find an audience, join a community, and create impact, both online and off. People and organizations who are committed to driving positive social change belong here.
As part of this philosophy, YouTube promotes five fundamentals they believe nonprofits can achieve and leverage to make a social impact:
Shareability. Create videos that your supporters will want to pass along to a friend or family member after watching. This can be accomplished through creating video content that’s relatable, relevant to ongoing trending topics, or prompts engagement by asking compelling questions.
Discoverability. There are many tips about creating content that plays to YouTube’s algorithm but the most reliable strategy for getting discovered is making high-quality content that is relevant to your audience’s interests. Use an attractive thumbnail and an attention-grabbing title as well as relevant tags to increase your chances of being discovered through manual searches.
Consistency. One of YouTube’s biggest strengths is its ability to help video creators build sustainable communities. To cultivate a support base, establish a consistent posting schedule, and ensure your videos always have a cohesive brand identity and cover topics your supporters are interested in. How often you post is up to you, but aim for at least once a week when getting started.
Community. Encourage your current supporters to check out your YouTube channel to start building a new community. As new supporters find your content, respond to their comments, engage them with polls using the community tab feature, and like positive and thoughtful comments to encourage engagement.
Sustainability. Consistently creating video content can lead to burnout. Ensure you set a sustainable pace for your team and help them come up with new ideas to make sure you always have fresh content.
Your YouTube channel doesn’t need to become a viral sensation for it to help your cause. Whether you aim to cultivate a new base of support on YouTube or are just interested in using the platform to host a few professional videos, these fundamentals can help you cultivate a positive experience that can translate into donations for your cause.
Video Creation Tips
Nonprofits interested in video content have two options: create videos internally or hire an external video production company. Some video production companies have specific services for nonprofits that may be more moderately priced. However, video production is still expensive, and many nonprofits may prefer to at least make shorter and less formal videos internally.
Whether you decide to have your team make videos or want to be informed about the video creation process when working with a production company, here are a few tips about developing nonprofit videos:
Must-Have Equipment
Like any type of digital marketing content, videos need the right software and equipment to develop. Professional video production companies will likely use tools that are far more advanced than the average nonprofit’s needs. If you only wish to make casual YouTube Shorts style content, a basic camera and free editing software may even satisfy your needs.
However, if you want to create slightly more complex videos, you’ll need to research video production equipment and weigh the costs against your marketing budget. At the very least, you’ll need:
Camera
Tripod
Audio equipment
Lighting equipment
Editing software
For more specific information about different types of cameras, microphones, and other equipment, YouTube itself is full of videos that offer tutorials on everything from how to set up your lighting to the effect different types of camera lenses will have on your videos.
Emotional Impact
With its ability to showcase sounds and visuals together, video is an especially effective medium for conveying emotion. For example, nonprofit video production company Tectonic Video created this emotional video for Mutual Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to helping animals find their forever homes:
This video uses a combination of interviews, home movies, animated footage, and carefully framed close-ups to help viewers connect with their cause. The music also transitions from upbeat to create a positive atmosphere as viewers get to know the family before switching to a more melancholy track to reinforce the more challenging emotions they experienced.
Videos that get viewers to empathize with their cause are more likely to be shared and earn support. In your own videos, consider how you can tell stories that encourage your audience to root for those who have a connection with your cause. Then, use music cues and footage to evoke emotions that will make supporters want to take action.
Visual Identity
Building a following on YouTube requires building a brand. Do you want viewers to think of your organization as inspirational? Relatable and familiar? Cutting-edge and professional? Think about your current brand identity and how you can translate it to video.
For example, one nonprofit might make an effort to only feature footage of their beneficiaries rather than their staff and volunteers to emphasize their commitment to elevating and empowering beneficiaries. By contrast, another organization may use an animated style to humanize concepts like water cycles or less-than-cute creatures like insects.
Additionally, ensure your organization’s name and logo are featured in your video, so if the video gets shared on a different site, supporters can find their way back to your nonprofit.
Call-to-Action
After watching your video, what action do you want your supporters to take? On YouTube, it’s become a cliche for videos to begin by asking viewers to “Like, comment, and subscribe,” and nonprofits have even more actions they might request for supporters, such as sharing, donating, or volunteering.
However, asking viewers to take multiple actions, especially if they’re listed quickly in a row, can easily become white noise. For viewers who watch a lot of online content, ignoring multiple calls to action can become a habit.
Ensure your calls to action stand out by asking supporters to take just one specific action in your videos.
When creating your videos, consider how they fit into your overall marketing strategy. For example, for a video that tells an emotional story, you might ask supporters to donate. Or, you might create educational videos for an awareness campaign and ask viewers to “like” them, which boosts engagement and increases the likelihood that they will be recommended to others.
Launch Your YouTube Channel
Whether you just need a platform to host video content or are looking to build an entirely new following, YouTube is the channel for sharing inspiring content and connecting with supporters through video.
Of course, video is just one part of your marketing campaign, and the rest of your advertising strategy is instrumental in helping your videos find their audience. Learn more about nonprofit marketing and promote your videos with these resources:
Google Ad Grants: The Complete Guide for Nonprofits. With YouTube for Nonprofits, you also have the potential to earn a Google Ad Grant. Explore how you can leverage this new advertising channel with this complete guide.
https://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/youtube-for-nonprofits_Feature.jpg7001450Jessica Kinghttps://gettingattention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/getting-attention-logo.svgJessica King2023-07-06 20:56:492024-11-15 14:49:48Getting Started with YouTube for Nonprofits in 3 Steps
How to Apply for Google Grants: Get Approved in 4 Easy Steps
/in Google Ad Grants /by Jessica KingAre you looking to drive traffic to your nonprofit’s landing pages without breaking the bank? The Google Ad Grant program will help you do exactly that! After completing the Google Grant application process, you’ll receive $10,000 every month to spend on Google Ads.
Whether you’re an advocacy organization looking to boost petition signatures or an animal shelter aiming to increase volunteer signups, Google Grants can empower your nonprofit to broaden its reach, enhance its search visibility, and drive conversions at exponential rates. As long as you meet all of the Google Grant requirements and follow the proper steps, you’ll get your application approved in no time.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the basics and steps of how to apply for Google Grants! Here’s what we’ll cover:
At Getting Attention, we’re a Google-certified Google Ad Grant Agency devoted to helping nonprofits make the most of the Google Ad Grants program. We know exactly how to apply for Google Grants and get approved on the first try. Let’s start our journey by answering some of the most common questions that nonprofits have about the program.
Google Grant Application FAQs
Before diving into the required steps for applying for Google Grants, let’s run through a few of the most common questions that nonprofit professionals have when they first start looking into the program.
What is the Google Grant?
The Google Ad Grants program enables nonprofits to acquire valuable search engine ad space at no cost. The grant supplies eligible organizations with $10,000 in Google Ad credits every month to put toward driving traffic to their websites’ most important content.
Since Google generates more than 80% of desktop search traffic in the United States alone, this program has the potential to boost your nonprofit’s visibility and generate more support for your cause. All you have to do is follow the required Google Grant application process and get approved.
Google Grants can benefit nonprofits in a variety of ways, including:
Action Against Hunger is one of many nonprofits that have benefited from the program, driving 158,000 visitors to its website and raising over $66,000 in just 12 months thanks to Ad Grants. However, the Google Grant has several specific guidelines that determine an organization’s eligibility to participate in the program.
How do I get a Google Grant?
There is a pretty lengthy Google Grant application process that your nonprofit must follow, from verifying eligibility to creating relevant accounts to producing your first ad campaign.
The goal is to confirm that you’re a trustworthy nonprofit that will benefit from the program and promote content users will find valuable. To save time and ensure that your application gets approved the first time around, consider outsourcing the work to Google-certified Google Grant experts like Getting Attention.
How long will it take to apply for Google Grants?
The actual Google Grants application itself doesn’t take long to fill out or get approved. However, you’ll need to complete some pre-qualifying steps that may take some time.
For instance, if you’re already registered with Google for Nonprofits, the Google Grant application process will likely take anywhere from 2 to 14 days. Otherwise, you’ll need to apply and await for approval for a Google for Nonprofits account first.
4 Steps to Apply for Google Grants
To set you up for success, let’s explore each step in the Google Grants application process in more detail:
1. Check your Google Grants eligibility status.
To qualify for a Google Ad Grant, your organization must meet several criteria. Check your eligibility upfront to ensure that the time and effort you invest in the application process pay off.
Given that the program is available in over 50 countries, be sure to locate the specific guidelines of your current location. In the United States, the following is required to be eligible:
Outside of these eligibility requirements, there are specific types of nonprofits that are ineligible, regardless if they meet the above requirements. These include:
If your organization falls within one of these ineligible categories, consider conducting further research into similar initiatives that do apply to your nonprofit. For example, Google for Education offers separate benefits for educational institutions.
However, if your organization does not fall into one of the above categories, you’re free to apply for the Google Ad Grant! For example, if your church is looking to reach out to the community for more congregation members, consider applying for this program.
Additional Google Grant application requirements
Once you’ve evaluated your initial eligibility, you’re almost ready to start moving through the Google Grant application process. However, there are a few more requirements you should meet before you officially get started.
Some of the most important Google Ad Grant requirements include:
Doing as much preparation as you can upfront will help you move through the actual application much quicker.
2. Create a Google for Nonprofits account.
The next step is to register for a Google for Nonprofits account. Beyond Ad Grants, Google for Nonprofits offers an array of advantages for growing awareness for your mission. Some of the most useful perks you’ll receive include:
If this seems like an offer you can’t refuse, follow these steps to successfully apply for a Google for Nonprofits account:
Additionally, as part of getting started with Google for Nonprofits, you’ll be prompted to register with Google’s primary nonprofit verification partner, Percent. The process for registering with Percent can be completed through the Google for Nonprofits’s portal, and Google will submit your form to Percent after your complete it.
Make sure you’re signed in with an email address that you check frequently when you create your Google for Nonprofits account. Whatever address you use is where Google will send updates about your account, which also include any outreach about your Google Ad Grants account once you get it up and running.
3. Prepare your website for your Google Grant application.
When you apply for Google Grants, they’ll require you to submit your website, then they’ll evaluate it to ensure you have useful content that users will find trustworthy.
Google will run through a checklist of conditions regarding the quality of your website before approving your application. Beyond getting your Google Grant application approved, improving your nonprofit’s website will help you develop much more valuable ads that users will actually interact with.
Let’s explore a few website optimization tips that will maximize your application chances.
Include your EIN and mission statement
Google requires you to have a clear description of your organization, its mission, and its activities on your site. Doing so is not only crucial for getting your Google Grant application approved, but it also improves your credibility with website visitors and helps them determine whether their values align with your work.
While Google doesn’t require you to display your EIN (in the case of U.S.-based nonprofits), doing so doesn’t pose any security threats. It simply shows that you’re a registered 501(c)(3) organization to anyone who might be considering donating, volunteering, registering for an event, or sharing any sensitive information with your team.
You can display your EIN by including it in your website’s footer, so it will automatically show up on every page of your site without interfering with your website’s design.
Implement the proper security measures for your website
To meet the Google Grant requirements, your nonprofit’s website needs to be secure and trustworthy. The main way to do this is by securing an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. This encrypts any data that’s transferred on your site, so if someone’s donating, their payment details, name, address, and any other sensitive information they share will automatically be encrypted.
You can check whether a website is encrypted by looking at the URL. If the web address begins with https instead of http, that indicates that it’s SSL-certified. Google Chrome will even mark sites that don’t have an SSL certificate as ‘Not Secure’ in the address bar. Not having an SSL certificate is a quick way to turn visitors away from your website, since they’ll automatically consider your site to be untrustworthy.
Additionally, having an SSL certificate is an effective way to improve your organic traffic. According to Google’s Transparency Report, Google Chrome users on Windows, Android, and Mac all spend over 90% of their browsing time on HTTPs sites. Google, among other search engines, uses SSL certification as a ranking factor. Not having an SSL certificate can actually hurt your rankings!
To obtain an SSL certificate, Hubspot recommends that you verify your website’s information through ICANN Lookup, generate the Certificate Signing Request (CSR), validate your domain by submitting your CSR to the Certificate Authority, and install the certificate on your website.
Optimize your site
Overall, your website should be visually attractive, easy to navigate, and filled with valuable content. To optimize your website and maximize your Google Ads conversions, focus on these primary areas:
Professional help is the most reliable resource for making the most of your site through Google Ad Grants. A Google Grants agency like Getting Attention that’s a recognized Google Partner will ensure that your website is up to par and optimized for the user experience.
4. Submit your Google Grant application.
Once your Google for Nonprofits account is approved, you’ll receive an email from Google, and you can finally apply for Google Grants! You can find the most up-to-date activation steps in your Google for Nonprofits account. Here’s what the process currently looks like:
At this point, you’re all ready to start creating your campaigns, spreading your message, and connecting with new prospects online.
Advice for completing your Google Grant application
If you’re eligible and follow the provided steps, you’ll more than likely get approved. Even if your application is denied the first time around, Google’s team will provide you with a reason why so you’ll have clear next steps on how to get approved.
Some best practices for maximizing your chances of success include:
If you’re still confused about the process or you simply don’t have enough time in your day to apply, we fully recommend reaching out to a professional Google Grants agency. Our team is happy to chat about your needs and handle the entire Google Grant application process for you!
What to Do When Your Google Grant Application Gets Approved
Learning how to apply for Google Grants was the easy part! Now you have to create highly targeted campaigns and ensure you’re meeting the program’s compliance requirements.
While your best bet for success is to outsource account management to a Google-certified grants agency, here are the immediate next steps your team should take after getting approved:
Configure your Google Ads account
To start leveraging your grant money, you must set up your first few campaigns. Within Google Ads, you’ll find the Campaigns tab on the navigation bar to the left.
Keep these tips in mind to configure a well-organized account:
If you’re interested in learning more about setting up high-performing campaigns, check out our ultimate guide to optimizing your Google Grant account. In it, we dive into account management tips and requirements that will help you connect with your audience.
Meet Google Grants compliance requirements
To ensure your account remains in good standing with the program’s rules, keep an eye on these essential components:
Google implements these requirements to ensure that you’re actually generating value from the program. Failing to meet these compliance requirements will result in account deactivation, so keep an eye on your account and continue optimizing your ads over time!
How an Expert Can Help You Apply for Google Grants
To see meaningful results from this marketing grant, you need consistent upkeep, performance tracking, and compliance with Google’s official account requirements. With the weight of running a nonprofit already on your shoulders, this may seem like a lot to handle. Have no fear—that’s why Google Grant agencies exist.
From application to account management, Google Grant agencies like Getting Attention that are official Google partners will ensure your success every step of the way. Some valuable areas of assistance include Getting Attention offers include:
If you’re curious about the role that an agency will play in Google Grants management, our team is happy to chat! Reach out to our team to discuss how we can support all your Google Grants needs, from applying to the program to researching the best keywords for your cause.
Final Thoughts on Applying for Google Grants
The Google Grants program is a wonderful opportunity for any nonprofit looking to amplify its digital marketing strategies. All you need to do is learn how to apply for Google Grants and then configure your Google Ads account according to your goals.
All of this information may feel a bit overwhelming, but the opportunity to utilize $10,000 a month of free Google Ads spending is worth weathering the confusion. Contact us today for a free consultation with our agency to help plan the best Google Ad Grants strategy for your nonprofit.
In the meantime, learn more about the program and maximize the success of your ad campaigns with these great resources:
Your Nonprofit Branding Strategy Can Probably Be Better
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingA well-defined and recognizable brand can do wonders for any organization or business. Recent studies have shown that 26% of nonprofits have rebranded in the past two years — and of these, around half (47%) have already seen an increase in revenue. This means that if you think your branding could be improved, you’re probably right.
To help you learn how to take your nonprofit branding strategy to the next level this guide will cover:
At Getting Attention, nonprofit marketing is our specialty. By harnessing the power of the Google Ad Grant, we connect nonprofits with the right audiences to drive impact and build support.
Why Does Nonprofit Branding Matter?
It takes anywhere from 17 to 50 milliseconds for people to form a first impression about your brand. Use a bulletproof nonprofit branding strategy to make the most of these precious few seconds.
Effective branding makes your nonprofit more easily recognized. This directly affects whether people see your messaging and feel compelled to take action.
This is why it’s so important to create branded content and messaging. With the right strategy, supporters can build a relationship with your brand and instantly recognize and trust it. Think about the American Red Cross—as soon as you see it, you know exactly who this organization is and what they do. To summarize, nonprofit branding is important because it:
Thoughtful branding execution is an ongoing process. Your nonprofit branding strategy is made of several moving parts that must be managed to create a memorable These moving parts are consolidated into your nonprofit brand guide.
Essential Nonprofit Brand Guide Components to Improve
Who is your organization? A descriptive answer to this question should be captured in your nonprofit brand guide.
This document contains your brand “rules” and ensures that your marketing team is on the same page concerning all components. Without these rules, your branding will be inconsistent and unrepresentative. Your brand guide should be detailed and include use cases for both digital marketing and print materials.
Here is what to include for both messaging and visual elements:
Your Name
It’s common to have different names depending on which region your headquarters occupy. Additionally, some organizations decide to go by acronyms. Take M.A.D.D. or Mothers Against Drunk Driving for example. In this case, the acronym carries an emotional meaning that underlies the group’s cause. Most likely, you’ve already landed on your nonprofit name. To test its effectiveness, ask these questions:
Hopefully, you have answered “yes” to the above questions. If not, it’s time to re-evaluate your nonprofit name to be sure it accurately reflects your organization’s values.
Mission statement
Your mission statement is the core purpose of your nonprofit organization. When crafting your own nonprofit mission statement, make sure to include WHY your nonprofit exists, WHO your nonprofit is helping, and HOW your nonprofit serves them. Your WHY of your mission statement explains your vision, or how your organization would like positive change the world.
For example, The Nature Conservancy captures its mission and vision statement in a memorable and concrete way:
Mission: “To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.”
Vision: “A world where the diversity of life thrives, and people act to conserve nature for its own sake and its ability to fulfill our needs and enrich our lives.”
The above points answer WHAT the organization is helping (lands and waters) and WHY (to increase the diversity of life). The Nature Conservancy’s “See Our Priorities” link captures the HOW of their nonprofit mission and breaks it down into goals to meet by 2030.
Tone
Your tone describes how you communicate as an organization. Are you urgent or excited? Welcoming or focused? Your chosen tone is an aspect of your overall nonprofit personality and should be representative of how you approach your cause.
A practical application of tone is your tagline. It should be short, catchy, and representative of your mission. For instance, the Montana Historical Society uses the tagline “Big sky, Big land. Big history” to encompass its promise to uphold Montana tradition.
Color
The colors you choose for your nonprofit branding can greatly influence how your audience feels when they see your organization out and about online or in person. When determining the best colors to represent your brand, try to think of the emotions that colors evoke.
For instance, green is often associated with nature while red is associated with passion or urgency. To get a full view of brand color associations, refer to this guide:
As you finalize your color palette, be mindful of existing color associations. For example, pink is also tied to the breast cancer awareness movement. Other considerations include political party and international color meanings.
It’s best to choose one primary color and 2-3 secondary colors to complement it. This way, your branding will remain simple and impactful.
Logo
Your logo is the center of your brand. It’s the image that people remember most and will recognize the easiest. Using your logo consistently helps create an association to your brand and builds the relationship supporters have with your nonprofit’s content. There are three types of logos to consider:
Whichever you choose, ensure your logo evokes the right emotion and is communicative of your mission.
Typography
Your font choices should align with your colors and logo. Sans serif fonts are a popular choice due to their readability and straightforwardness.
Consider selecting two fonts from the same family with different weights to add hierarchy to your visual brand. Use the heavier font weight for headlines and the lighter font for descriptions.
5 Nonprofit Branding Strategy Best Practices
Now that you’ve nailed your nonprofit brand guide, it’s time to explore how to use it to turn more heads and inspire greater support. Consider these best practices to catapult your nonprofit branding forward, connect with your audience, and deliver your messaging in ways that inspire support:
Your nonprofit branding strategy impacts many aspects of your marketing efforts and donor relationships. Leverage these best practices to ensure that your branding not only represents your organization and mission effectively but that you’re able to incorporate it into key messaging and connect with supporters in valuable ways.
5 Smart Nonprofit Branding Examples
Sometimes the best way to visualize your nonprofit brand is by being inspired by other successful brands in your space. Analyzing what makes their branding so memorable and effective will help you learn the ropes or enhance your existing branding.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top five nonprofit brands to watch. We’ve included a snapshot of each’s colors, logos, and messaging, so you can see how each organization weaves its messaging into its brand.
Nonprofit Branding Example 1: Oxfam
Oxfam is a humanitarian organization dedicated to ending inequality. They call on supporters to fight injustice and poverty as one united community. Here’s what their branding looks like:
Oxfam’s branding reflects its values. The warm green exudes a friendly and welcoming personality that invites everyone to join in their movement. The soft logo does not include divisions or harsh lines as a reminder that everyone deserves a chance to thrive, not just survive. Additionally, Oxfam focuses on the word “equal” in its messaging to echo its mission statement.
Nonprofit Branding Example 2: Feeding America
Feeding America is the largest hunger relief organization in the United States and represents a nationwide network of food banks and pantries. Their vision is to create a hunger-free nation. Here’s a glimpse of their branding:
Feeding America’s mission statement is perfectly captured in its branding materials. Its inclusion of wheat and use of warm, inviting colors signal its promise to end hunger. The use of orange is also commonly used in relation to commercial food logos, mimicking Feeding America’s vision to provide meals for those in need.
Nonprofit Branding Example 3: charity: water
Charity: water is an organization dedicated to increasing clean drinking water access. Founded in 2006, it has been working to help end the water crisis through local partners and supporters. Here is how they use their story to capture their branding:
Charity: water’s jerry can has become famous in the nonprofit logo world because it represents the work this nonprofit does in a succinct and memorable way. Millions of developing communities rely on jerry cans for clean drinking water transport. Therefore, the inclusion of this symbol speaks to charity: water’s promise to bring safe drinking water to its beneficiaries.
Nonprofit Branding Example 4: The Backpack Project
The Backpack Project (TBP) is a student-run organization dedicated to easing the burden of homelessness by delivering backpacks containing food, toiletries, and other necessities to those experiencing homelessness. Here’s how their brand echoes this sentiment:
TBP’s branding’s star feature is its simplicity. Rather than featuring a stuffed bag to visualize the nonprofit’s mission, TBP features only a zipper to get its message across. The zipper is a nod to the backpack, but also a hope that more people experiencing homelessness will be able to “unzip” a better future where they can characterize their experience as “rare and brief.”
Nonprofit Branding Example 5: Pencils of Promise
Pencils of Promise is committed to providing quality education to children in need. They provide teacher support, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programs, and quality infrastructure to enhance learning environments. Here is how their brand captures their values:
Pencils of Promise’s simple logo goes for the obvious without becoming intrusive. The pencil shape tells people immediately that this organization is education-centered. Pencils of Promise’s language is also bold and hopeful as reflected in its choice of bright yellow and stark black (which are also the colors of a classic No. 2 pencil!).
Additional Resources
There’s a common misconception that nonprofit branding only refers to your organization’s aesthetics. However, it extends beyond color palettes and fonts, as your brand messaging can directly impact your nonprofit’s marketing and fundraising success. If you want to reach your supporters where they are and spread awareness of your mission, having an effective branding strategy is essential.
To continue your research in learning how to push your nonprofit forward, we encourage you to explore our additional resources for nonprofit branding and marketing:
13 Top Fundraising CRMs for Nonprofit Organizations (Updated for 2023)
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Tools /by Jessica KingFundraising CRMs, or constituent relationship management systems for nonprofits, are vital for effective revenue generation and donor management efforts. This is especially true as organizations continue to grow.
If your nonprofit is seeking a CRM solution (whether for the first time or to upgrade an existing system), you’ve come to the right place! This list of top nonprofit CRMs has been crafted with organizations like yours in mind, and we’ll highlight key features, benefits, and more for each provider.
At Getting Attention, our favorite fundraising CRMs (in alphabetical order) are:
One key function to consider as you browse this list of suggested fundraising CRMs is matching gift abilities. Research shows that between $4 and $7 billion in available matching gift funding is left on the table each year—largely because nonprofits lack the tools to secure those corporate dollars effectively.
Luckily, more and more nonprofit CRMs are beginning to incorporate matching gift functionality into their toolkit through seamless integrations with matching gift software (the most common by far being 360MatchPro by Double the Donation).
Ready to dive in and discover the perfect donor management system for your organization? Let’s get started.
1. CharityEngine
CharityEngine offers a number of fundraising solutions, including an online donation platform and fundraising CRM. Their CRM system enables teams to quickly and easily automate fundraising, marketing, and data collection to provide nonprofits with more time to spend on mission-related projects.
Top CharityEngine features:
Not to mention, CharityEngine donation forms drive matching gift revenue by simplifying the matching process for both donors (through personalized reminders and company-specific instructions) and nonprofits (by automating communications, collecting data, and tracking revenue growth). Since the #1 hindrance for matching gifts is a lack of awareness among supporters, CharityEngine leverage matching git software from Double the Donation to ensure each donor is exposed to matching gift information at multiple touchpoints.
Why We Love This CRM
CharityEngine’s major gifts and planned giving software capabilities allow organizations to maximize their impact and streamline their management. As major gifts make up to 80% of an organization’s total revenue, this feature offers a huge advantage.
With CharityEngine, your organization can track applications and opportunities and manage projects with just a few clicks. Its robust analytics features also provide telling insights to measure your major gift progress.
2. Classy
Classy is an all-in-one fundraising platform with solutions for donor management, online donations, and peer-to-peer campaigns. This fundraising CRM is designed to provide users with a central hub for campaign and supporter management called Classy Manager. With these tools, nonprofit fundraisers are able to launch and manage campaigns, track performance and donor interactions, and gain a better understanding of their fundraising overall.
Top Classy features:
And Classy doesn’t want you to forget about matching gift opportunities, either! This platform integrates with Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift tool to enable a searchable matching gift database, automated donor follow-ups and match reminders, and more. They even offer a two-way data sync that allows matching gift information collected in 360MatchPro to flow into Classy’s platform! When donors are encouraged to participate in their employers’ matching gift programs on multiple occasions, they’ll be more likely to request a match and secure more dollars for your cause.
Why We Love This CRM
Classy provides a 360-degree supporter interaction view, so you can observe and manage your donor interactions from every angle. You can look into individual donor histories to enhance your engagement efforts. This is especially helpful to re-engage donors and increase your donor retention rate.
For reference, the average donor retention rate across nonprofits is between 40 and 45% which can feel like you’re constantly fighting an uphill battle. However, donor management tools like the 360 supporter interaction view can help your nonprofit make every interaction count.
3. Click & Pledge
Click & Pledge offers powerful donor management tools built on the Salesforce platform. This innovative fundraising CRM can even help users sort and rank donors based on an algorithm that considers personal donations, amounts fundraised, and gifts within an individual’s network in order to identify their highest-value supporters.
Top Click & Pledge features:
Plus, Click & Pledge integrates with the top matching gift solution, 360MatchPro, to promote matching gift opportunities to supporters, drive more company match requests with automated communications, and boost fundraising revenue overall.
Why We Love This CRM
Click & Pledge offers effective video fundraising options to capture your donor’s hearts. You can simply embed donation forms directly into your videos for viewers to donate without having to exit the video experience.
This solution doesn’t allow viewers to get distracted, so they can give to your cause at the best time—right after viewing your mission. And, recent studies have shown that 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation. With Click & Pledge, you can make this process as easy as possible.
4. DonorPerfect
DonorPerfect is a comprehensive fundraising solution that specializes in strategic donor management through targeted communications, multichannel outreach, easy donation processing, and customizable reports. Plus, it can save fundraisers tons of time and resources when they employ DonorPerfect’s extensive automated workflows!
Top DonorPerfect features:
This platform also incorporates matching gift tools and strategies with a Double the Donation integration. This way, organizations can easily communicate the importance of matching gifts to donors and provide targeted next steps depending on the individual’s employer. The easier it is for donors to participate in matching gift programs, the more likely they are to follow through with their request, and the more dollars that go toward your mission!
Why We Love This CRM
DonorPerfect has a wide variety of integrations, enabling your team to choose the ones that will best complement your goals. From volunteer management to website and event management, DonorPerfect will have your team covered.
5. Engaging Networks
Engaging Networks is a multi-faceted fundraising platform with tools for online donations, nonprofit marketing, peer-to-peer campaigns, donor and data management, and more. This eCRM is dedicated to providing users with cutting-edge technology with constantly developing upgrades, newly released features, and a web of seamless integrations.
Top Engaging Networks features:
One of their most impactful integrations is with Double the Donation’s matching gift software, 360MatchPro. Thanks to the Engaging Networks and Double the Donation integration, organizations can quickly boost matching gift revenue by promoting these program opportunities at multiple donor touchpoints. This includes, but is not limited to, during the donation process itself and within a number of automated and customizable email follow-ups.
Why We Love This CRM
Engaging Networks is currently the only platform that offers artificial intelligence fundraising capabilities. This future-forward option leverages machine learning to help organizations reach fundraising goals and transform one-time donors into recurring supporters. As your data changes, artificial intelligence fundraising can continue to predict patterns and give an in-depth glimpse into supporter behavior.
6. GiveSmart
Formerly SimplyFundraisingCRM, GiveSmart is a fantastic solution that equips nonprofits with innovative donor management tools. The top benefits of GiveSmart include saving time through strategic automation, raising more with effective fundraising solutions, and receiving guided assistance from a panel of expert fundraising advisors.
Top GiveSmart features:
Not to mention, the platform integrates with Double the Donation’s most comprehensive matching gift solution to help drive additional revenue from company matches! Through donor screening practices and automated communications, organizations can easily promote matching gifts and encourage supporters to participate.
Why We Love This CRM
GiveSmart’s ticketing and guest management features work great for any type of event—in-person, online, or hybrid that can keep up with changing preferences. In addition, GiveSmart has scheduled text messaging that engages supporters at the most opportune time.
7. Kindful
Kindful CRM is a product of Bloomerang that is designed to build seamless connections between various nonprofit processes to streamline backend efforts and provide improved donor experiences. This platform emphasizes the power of technical integrations with a number of other fundraising platforms to provide an interconnected network of fundraising software that drives success.
Top Kindful features:
And for many Kindful clients, this network incorporates matching gift software and practices as well. Their matching gift integration with Double the Donation’s comprehensive automation tool allows organizations to promote company matches through personalized outreach and match reminders. Plus, users can configure automated follow-ups to include matching gift instructions, next steps, and guidelines for each individual’s employer, which ultimately results in increased matches and revenue.
Why We Love This CRM
Kindful’s library of integration features is vast, but there is one specifically worth highlighting—Kindful’s email capabilities. Kindful enables your organization to send timely, personalized donation receipts and campaign emails to establish a personalized cadence with donors. According to TruConversion Reports, an email marketing campaign can deliver a return of $40 for every $1 spent. This places email in the highest marketing ROI category.
8. Neon CRM
Neon CRM is a donor management solution created by the fundraising platform Neon One and designed to scale up alongside organizations of any size. This versatile solution is able to help manage nonprofit fundraising, memberships, events, websites, and more.
Top Neon CRM features:
Plus, their matching gift integration with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation enables organizations to significantly increase matching gift awareness through strategic follow-ups and personalized guidelines—and boost matching gift revenue as a result.
Why We Love This CRM
Neon One includes website design solutions that can help you build and manage web pages with confidence. With its web design tools, you can generate responsive, SEO-optimized web pages with no coding needed. This way, you can promote your mission through an engaging online presence.
9. NonProfitEasy
NonProfitEasy is a product of the Lumaverse technology company that was built to provide organizations with simple, scalable solutions. Previously known as Fundly CRM, NonProfitEasy makes its goal to “turn one-time donors into lifetime supporters.”
Top NonProfitEasy features:
And with a seamless integration with the industry-leading matching gift tool, 360MatchPro, NonProfitEasy users are able to double supporter donations while saving time and effort through automation. This includes donor information screening to identify match-eligible transactions, customized outreach triggered to remind eligible individuals of matching gifts, and powerful tracking and reporting capabilities with forecasting tools.
Why We Love This CRM
TheNonprofitEasy includes enhanced member engagement features, so you can create member levels and pricing that reflect your nonprofit’s needs. Additionally, its embeddable member forms make it easy for you to create compelling member marketing campaigns. Member-specific email blasts also let you personalize your communications.
10. Raiser’s Edge NXT
Raiser’s Edge NXT is a nonprofit fundraising CRM built by Blackbaud that provides organizations of all sizes with donor management tools. The Raiser’s Edge NXT is their newest version of the product, which is a cloud-based software that aims to provide the social good community with an easy and effective fundraising solution.
Top Raiser’s Edge NXT features:
To incorporate matching gift fundraising efforts as well, Raiser’s Edge NXT integrates seamlessly with Double the Donation’s matching gift software. This enables nonprofits to leverage the most effective matching gift strategies with little to no time and effort required of their fundraising teams. With automated donor follow-ups and match reminders, organizations see significant increases in match revenue!
Why We Love This CRM
Raiser’s Edge NXT has extensive donor data tools that offer automated checkups to ensure your data is up to date. With clean and correct data, you’ll be able to foster more meaningful interactions and track your entire constituent community.
11. Salesforce
Salesforce is a popular CRM solution for businesses and nonprofits alike. Salesforce.com caters to the for-profit side of the sector, while Salesforce.org targets nonprofits, schools, and other mission-driven organizations.
Top Salesforce features:
This comprehensive platform also allows Salesforce clients to extend their CRM functionality through a number of technical integrations with partners listed in the Salesforce AppExchange marketplace—one of which is Double the Donation. When users leverage Double the Donation’s matching gift automation tools, nonprofits can collect two gifts for every one donation solicited by driving matching gift participation.
Why We Love This CRM
Salesforce’s digital marketing tools can help you make the initial ask and retain them long-term. With Salesforce, you can launch a series of emails or a full-blown, multi-channel campaign. The best part? Salesforce’s personalizing email features let you catch each individual supporter’s attention.
12. SalsaLabs
SalsaCRM from SalsaLabs is a powerful and effective donor management system. This software works well alongside Salsa’s other fundraising products in addition to a range of other top fundraising solutions—including Double the Donation’s matching gift tools!
Top Salsa features:
The Double the Donation integration allows Salsa clients to utilize Double the Donation’s matching gift software, 360MatchPro, alongside their fundraising CRMs and donation forms to automate matching gift communications with donors. This boosts awareness of these programs and their availability while encouraging eligible donors to request matching donations from their employers. Ultimately, these tools result in increased corporate donations and better donor relations.
Why We Love This CRM
SalsaLab’s donor profiles are overflowing with usable information for you to access unlimited custom fields and activity timelines. The platform’s automated “next suggested gift” calculations determine the optimal amounts for you to ask each donor. This way, you’ll engage with donors on a personal level and make an ask that aligns with their donation history.
13. Virtuous CRM
Virtuous offers a nonprofit CRM that is designed to help fundraisers streamline donor management efforts, improve supporter relationships, and leverage data-rich insights for improved practices.
Top Virtuous features:
With Virtuous, nonprofit clients can configure their fundraising CRMs to incorporate Double the Donation’s matching gift functionality. This integration allows organizations to increase matching gifts and improve their strategies through automated email follow-ups that contain employer-specific program information and instructions. When more donors request company matches from their employers, the nonprofit receives additional gifts for free!
Why We Love This CRM
Virtuous CRM’s social insights can give your organization the opportunity to make informed donor decisions. Using these insights, you can track givers based on their interests, persona, affiliations, and social media profiles. From there, you can suggest a relevant next action based on individual donor preferences and passions.
Tips for Selecting a Fundraising CRM
There are several CRMs out there and it can be easy to get overwhelmed with so many options. To assess your CRM needs, ask these questions:
Asking these questions ahead of time can help you narrow your search and decide on a scalable solution that best suits your specific needs. You might also decide to request a demo for multiple platforms to compare their capabilities.
Did any of these fundraising CRMs catch your eye? The providers listed above are some of our favorite solutions for nonprofit data management, donor relationships, automated communications, and more.
The more efficient your software, the more efficient your organization’s practices will be and the more you can do for your mission as a result. Good luck!
Check out these other educational resources to learn more about effective nonprofit fundraising and engagement strategies:
Google Ad Grant Remarketing: Your Questions Answered
/in Nonprofit Communications /by Jessica KingAs a nonprofit professional, you likely already know the importance of tailoring your communications to your audience. After all, your organization is connected to many unique individuals—donors, volunteers, new supporters, nonprofit staff, and beneficiaries—you wouldn’t communicate with them all the same way.
The same principle applies to digital marketing. Your online presence should cater to specific audiences. But how do you make sure the right audiences see the right ads? By remarketing with the Google Ad Grant!
In this article, we’ll answer your most pressing remarketing questions and explore how it can transform your digital strategy. Read more
Google Ad Grants Training: Top Resources and Courses
/in Google Ad Grants /by Jessica KingThrough the Google Ad Grant, Google provides nonprofits with thousands of dollars in grant money to spend on marketing. However, from ensuring they’re eligible and applying for a grant to actually running an ad campaign, nonprofits need to do their research before they can get started with a Google Ad Grant.
Fortunately, resources dedicated to Google Ad Grant training are plentiful. Informational blog posts, webinars, and training courses are all available to help nonprofits maximize their ad grants’ potential.
Whether you need marketing advice or are looking for tips on how to apply for the grant, these four resources can help with all of your nonprofit’s Google Ad Grant training needs.
Getting Attention
Getting Attention is a Google Ad Grants agency that helps nonprofits apply for the Google Ad Grant, run their ad campaigns, and maintain grant compliance. Along with these paid services, Getting Attention also hosts a regularly updated blog with free educational content that nonprofits can access at any time.
The content hosted on Getting Attention is sourced from a variety of experts in the nonprofit field, ensuring the tips and best practices shared reflect the views of a number of professionals. Content also varies widely in length, from quick tips to some of the most comprehensive deep dives on nonprofit best practices around.
What you can learn
Getting Attention’s blog covers a variety of topics, including:
Cost
All blog content on Getting Attention’s website is free.
If you’re interested in Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grants services, get in touch to schedule a free consultation.
Google for Education
Google for Education is a collection of video courses created by Google for a variety of audiences, including teachers, librarians, students, parents, job seekers, and business owners. Of these courses, nonprofits can learn from the program’s free lesson on the Google Ad Grant. These short training videos are a strong introduction for nonprofits that want to hear about Google Ad Grants directly from Google.
What you can learn
Google for Education’s Google Ad Grants training course teaches nonprofits the following:
Cost
Google for Education’s resources are free. Just sign up with a Google account to access all of their content and track your progress through each course.
TechSoup Courses
One of the first steps to applying for the Google Ad Grant involves registering your nonprofit with TechSoup, a technical support organization focused on helping nonprofits. Given their role in the Google Ad Grant application process, the TechSoup team is highly familiar with Google Ad Grant training and offers a variety of courses, including one dedicated to the Google Ad Grant.
What you can learn
Nonprofits interested in using TechSoup as a training resource can discover:
Cost
Each of TechSoup’s courses has its own pricing, and their recorded seminar series on the Google Ad Grant costs $75 to access.
Udemy
Udemy hosts courses on a wide range of subjects, including how nonprofits can use the Google Ad Grant. These courses are usually multi-part video series and often include extra materials, such as knowledge quizzes, educational articles, and downloadable resources. Their course on the Google Ad Grant also comes with a certificate of completion after finishing the 1.5-hour video series.
What you can learn
Udemy’s Google Ad Grants training course provides information on:
Cost
Udemy’s prices vary from course to course. Additionally, Udemy regularly offers discounts and promotions. For example, while the Google Ad Grant training course is normally $109.99, it has been on sale for as low as $30.00. Plus, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if the course does not meet your nonprofit’s needs.
Host impactful Google Ad Grants campaigns with the right training
The Google Ad Grant is an effective marketing tool that can get your nonprofit’s name in front of a large audience of potential supporters. To make the most of the opportunity the grant presents, ensure your team has the training they need to choose effective keywords, create outstanding ad copy, and ensure your ad campaigns are directed to the content you most want to promote.
If you’re looking for more training resources, start your search with these standout articles from Getting Attention’s free blog:
14 Important Matching Gifts Questions You Need to Ask
/in Nonprofit Communications /by Jessica KingWhen you hear matching gifts, what do you think of?
Maybe it’s a major donor who matches contributions made during a big campaign. As a nonprofit professional, you might’ve even participated in one of those. But have corporate matching gifts ever occurred to you?
Many donors, including those who give to your organization, are eligible for matching gifts through their employers. However, nonprofits often underutilize this fundraising strategy.
As a Google Ad Grants agency, we understand the power of harnessing every tool at your disposal that can help your nonprofit fulfill its mission. That’s why we’ve answered some important questions about matching gifts so you can leverage this major fundraising power. Let’s jump right in!
1. What are corporate matching gifts?
Corporate matching gifts are a form of corporate philanthropy in which companies match donations their employees make to nonprofits.
That’s the simple version.
Matching gifts are essentially free money. They let donors maximize the impact of their gifts without reaching back into their own pockets. As a result, nonprofits can double or even triple their donation revenue.
2. How do matching gifts work?
Matching gift programs vary by company, but here is the process in a nutshell:
Many companies also have a policy around match ratios, minimum and maximum amounts, and employee/nonprofit eligibility. Let’s dive deeper into each of those categories.
Match Ratios
Most companies match at a 1:1 ratio, which means a dollar-for-a-dollar match. However, match ratios can span anywhere from 0.5:1 to 4:1. For example, a 1:1 match on a $50 donation means $100 total, while a 2:1 match on the same $50 gets you $150 total.
Minimum and Maximum Amounts
Companies also have minimum and maximum donation amounts that they’ll match. The most common minimum amount is $25, but these amounts range from $1 to $100. The maximum amounts have an even wider range. These amounts are often between $1,000 and $15,000, though amounts will still vary below and above that range.
Eligibility
Many companies have restrictions on the types of nonprofits and employees that are eligible to receive or request a matched donation.
For nonprofits, most 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible for matching gift programs, including educational institutions, arts and cultural organizations, environmental organizations, health and human services, and more. The most common restriction is usually religious organizations, but it’s still up to the company.
For employees, their eligibility also depends on the company’s guidelines. This can include full-time, part-time, and retired employees.
3. Is there a deadline to submit my matching gift request?
The deadline to submit a matching gift request will vary based on your donor’s employer, but here are three main types of deadlines:
The more time that passes after a supporter makes a donation, the less likely they will be to submit a match request. That’s why you have to promote matching gift opportunities to them as soon as possible.
4. Why aren’t more nonprofits using matching gifts?
It turns out, much of the time, both nonprofits and donors don’t know about matching gifts.
For nonprofits, reasons include a lack of staff, resources, and time needed to zero in on matching gift revenue. Many times, organizations don’t know who a donor’s employer is or what their matching gift policy is.
For donors, most don’t even know that their company offers a matching gift program. Additionally, the process of getting their donation matched may seem way too complicated or unclear to get started with.
This means that approximately $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed every year. That’s money that could be reinvested into nonprofits to help support their operations and spread their missions.
5. Why are matching gifts important?
Beyond boosting your fundraising revenue, matching gifts can also help improve donor retention and engagement.
Did you know that 1 in 3 donors say they would give a larger gift if a match was applied to their donation?
Just knowing that their donation will go twice as far encourages donors to give a larger gift at the outset. Similarly, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered at all. If you have a potential donor who’s on the fence about giving to your organization, promoting corporate matching gifts can give them the extra push they need to make their decision.
Here are some other eye-opening matching gift statistics to help put things in perspective:
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits that come with matching gifts. They encourage donors to give to your organization, while also boosting the initial gift amounts.
6. Which companies offer matching gifts?
Good news: There are more companies that match donations than you may think.
Some of the top matching gift companies include Microsoft, Apple, Google, The Home Depot, and Disney. Many of these companies offer high maximum match limits and match donations to most types of nonprofits. For example:
This is only a snapshot of the many matching gift companies out there, and it’s not just large corporations handing out money. These companies range in size and guidelines, which is why it’s essential that you understand where your donors work to get in on this funding source.
7. How can my organization promote matching gifts?
We’ve made it clear that a lack of awareness is a big issue when it comes to matching gifts. So how can your organization market matching gifts to your donors?
We’ll cover some of the top marketing methods below!
Google Ad Grants
Did you know Google offers eligible nonprofits $10,000 in monthly ad credits to promote their websites? The Google Ad Grant is a great marketing tool for promoting matching gifts.
Since the Google Ad Grant program requires you to set up ad campaigns with specific goals, you can create a campaign for promoting matching gifts. Then, you can create ads directing users to your matching gift page to encourage them to participate.
At Getting Attention, we’re committed to helping nonprofits navigate Google Ad Grants, from determining program eligibility to managing ad campaigns. We’d be happy to consult with you to determine how we can best serve your Google Ad Grant needs.
Email Outreach
Email outreach takes a few different forms: confirmation emails, newsletters, thank-you letters, and more. When you send out these types of messages, it’s important to mention matching gifts.
Here’s some text you can include in your thank-you email after a donor has contributed to your cause:
You can even include a link to learn more about matching gifts within your email.
Social Media
Social media impacts donors—in fact, 32% of donors who give online say that social media is the channel that most inspires them to give.
Whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms, be sure to include links that direct supporters to the information they’ll need to submit a match request to their employer.
Donation Page
When supporters are already on your donation page, that means they’re serious about donating to your cause. Since donors are most engaged at this step, this is the perfect time to promote matching gifts.
Prompt your donors to figure out their eligibility for a matching donation through their employer. This can be done by including a brief piece of information about matching gifts or even by embedding a matching gift search tool on your form.
At Getting Attention, we’re committed to helping nonprofits navigate the Google Ad Grant program, from determining program eligibility to managing ad campaigns. We’d be happy to consult with you in order to best serve your Google Ad Grant needs.
Dedicated Matching Gift Page
By creating a dedicated matching gift page, you can provide donors with general educational information about matching gifts, as well as company-specific matching gift forms, guidelines, and instructions.
Having a specific page that houses all of the information donors need will make it easier for supporters to submit a match request. You can send donors there through social media posts, emails, and other types of communication.
Matching Gift Search Tool
By investing in matching gift software that offers access to a matching gift database, you’ll hand-deliver donors updated and comprehensive information about their employer’s matching gift guidelines and forms.
Interested in learning more about matching gift databases? Jump to that section now!
8. How can I educate my team about matching gifts?
Many nonprofits don’t spend time educating their staff about matching gift programs. This is especially true for organizations that don’t realize the impact matching gifts can have on their revenue.
That’s why we’ve rounded up some effective steps that you can take to get your team up to speed:
Educating your new staff members and giving those refreshers to your entire team will help make matching gifts more effective across your organization. Be sure to offer helpful resources that they can access and provide training so they’re ready to handle anything matching gift-related that comes across their desk. For example, Double the Donation has a case studies resource that you can download below to help educate your team about the power of matching gifts.
9. How do I get leadership support for matching gifts?
In addition to rallying your team around matching gifts, you’ll also need to focus attention on getting leadership support. Without backing from leadership, it may be more challenging to get your staff on board in the first place.
First and foremost, you need to help leadership see the value in matching gifts. This momentum will then trickle down to the rest of your staff.
Double the Donation outlines effective ways to get your leadership on board with matching gifts:
When your leadership is on board with your matching gift plan, your entire team will be more willing to work toward your matching gift goals. Get them excited about the prospect of a huge donation revenue increase.
10. What is a matching gift database?
Even after you’ve gotten support for matching gifts across your organization, there’s still more that can be done to build up your matching gift revenue.
Making the investment in matching gift software can provide just the boost you need to drive those match-eligible donations to completion. More specifically, a matching gift database can give you access to information about thousands of company matching gift programs.
How does a matching gift database work?
A matching gift database is easily accessible via a search pool plugin. This plugin can go anywhere on your website, including donation forms and dedicated matching gift pages, and allows donors to search for their eligibility in seconds.
Here’s how it works:
If you’re looking for effective matching gift software, check out Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools.
Double the Donation offers a powerful matching gift automation tool called Double the Donation Matching. Organizations can embed the matching gift search tool anywhere on their website. From there, donors can access Double the Donation’s comprehensive matching gift database, which houses information on more than 20,000 companies and subsidiaries and their matching gift programs.
Double the Donation Matching also scans information donors provide during the donation process, determines their matching gift eligibility, and triggers automated emails that outline the next steps specific to the donor.
Plus, Double the Donation Matching integrates with more than 60 of the leading nonprofit CRMs, peer-to-peer fundraising software, and donation software, so it’s an excellent choice if you’re already using one or more of those tools.
According to a matching gifts report by Top Nonprofits, only 6.7% of organizations they surveyed got a perfect score on their matching gift scoring criteria.
However, the two organizations out of 30 total that received a perfect score use Double the Donation Matching to help them identify and follow up on matching gift opportunities. Using this tool from Double the Donation can help you zero in on more match-eligible donations, see those matches through to completion, and boost your overall revenue.
11. What is the donor side of matching gifts like?
As you collect donations from your supporters, their experience throughout the process can determine whether you retain their support. That’s why it’s important to streamline your entire donation process, including your matching gift efforts.
First, you should make sure you understand the matching gift lifecycle:
After you’ve successfully identified each stage of the matching gift lifecycle, you can then focus on improving each of these steps to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible for your donors.
Evaluating Your Current Donation Process
As donors give to your organization, do they see helpful resources about matching gifts? If not, the time of the donation is a prime opportunity to educate them.
This is where that embeddable matching gift search tool comes in handy. Allow donors to use the search tool during the donation stage so they can immediately take action.
Following Up About Matching Gifts
Once donors have submitted their donation, follow up and let them know that their gift can go twice as far! If they haven’t submitted a match request to their employer, now is a perfect time to send a follow-up email to get the ball rolling.
Again, if you choose to use a tool like Double the Donation Matching, you can automate this process. This matching gift platform will automatically email donors on your behalf with the information they need to figure out their eligibility.
You can even go beyond email outreach by calling donors. Consider making phone calls to a narrowed-down list of high-value matching gift donors who are more likely to submit a match request. Phone calls take more of your staff’s time, but being selective about who you call can add a meaningful human touch to your matching gift outreach.
Streamlining Your Verification Process
While the verification process might seem straightforward enough, many organizations might run into issues with understanding the process. Verifying the original donation with a matching gift company means familiarizing your team with the corporate giving platforms that companies are using.
Some of these top corporate giving platforms include Benevity, YourCause, and CyberGrants. Understanding the guidelines for each of these major vendors will help you respond to verification requests quickly and avoid missing out on any matching dollars. Be sure to educate your staff so they understand how the verification process works.
Thanking Your Donors
Thanking your donors should go without saying, but it’s still something we have to emphasize. Use your automation tools to thank your donors not only following their donation but also after you’ve received the match from their employer. This will help you cultivate the relationships you need to continue growing and serving your mission as a nonprofit.
For high-value donors, think about even more personalized approaches to give your thanks. Handwritten letters, eCards, and phone calls from senior leadership staff are just a sampling of the channels you can use.
Reviewing how your nonprofit handles the matching gift lifecycle can help you streamline the matching gift process for donors. Make it as easy as possible for donors to submit their matching gift requests, and then follow up to make sure they understand what the next steps are.
12. My organization has multiple chapters or affiliates. How should I go about the matching gift process?
For many organizations, encouraging matching gifts means keeping track of your donors’ employers and having a set process in place for outreach.
However, larger organizations that have multiple chapters or affiliates may run into issues when setting up their matching gift process.
These types of organizations can consolidate their matching gift process. According to Double the Donation, consolidation means that each chapter or affiliate will follow a central process to secure matching gifts. Here are some top tips on how you can do this:
These strategies can make a huge difference if your organization runs in multiple locations. A consistent process will help your teams avoid missing out on matching gift opportunities and create specific guidelines each unit should follow.
13. Are matching gifts the only type of corporate giving?
In addition to matching gifts, there are many other types of corporate philanthropy. From monetary grants for volunteer hours to programs that take place on the corporate side, here are some of the top corporate giving programs:
Volunteer Grants
Also known as “Dollars for Doers” programs, volunteer grants are a type of corporate philanthropy in which companies provide monetary grants to organizations where their employees regularly volunteer.
Here’s how volunteer grants work:
If you already have a dedicated group of volunteers, encourage them to check their eligibility for a volunteer grant. You might be able to get some extra corporate dollars this way.
Fundraising Matches
Fundraising matches are similar to matching gifts in that donations are matched by a company.
The difference?
Fundraising matches apply to fundraising events, like walk-a-thons or 5Ks. The event participant’s employer will then match the money the participant raises through sponsorships or other donations.
Automatic Payroll Deductions
One of the simplest forms of corporate giving is automatic payroll deductions. Through this corporate giving program, employees have a portion of their paychecks donated to a nonprofit on a regular basis.
Specific companies may have guidelines on which organizations they’ll donate to. Typically, the organization has to share similar values with the company, like environmental causes or other issues. Once your organization has been approved, this is a great source of recurring donations.
In-Kind Donations
Many companies donate more than just money to nonprofits. Some also provide in-kind donations, which means goods or services. To give you an example, a company might donate computers, consulting services, or even food to organizations.
In-kind donations not only benefit nonprofits, but they also give companies a sense of pride in helping a worthy cause.
14. Where can I learn more about matching gifts?
Now that we’ve answered the most common matching gift questions, you should have a deeper understanding of what matching gifts are. You can now start encouraging matching gifts from your supporters and watch your donation revenue increase exponentially.
If you need some additional information about matching gifts before you get started with them, we’ve compiled some helpful resources below:
4 Ways to Win Donors’ Hearts with Nonprofit Storytelling
/in Nonprofit Communications /by Jessica KingWhen it comes to marketing your nonprofit’s mission and connecting with donors on a deeper level, nothing is better than an engaging story.
Your nonprofit storytelling needs to capture your audience’s attention, clearly explain the problem you’re facing, and empower supporters to be a part of the solution. Ultimately, it should inspire donations and other forms of support. In this guide, we’ll walk through:
Because nonprofit storytelling is a critical component of your overall marketing strategy, it’s essential to hone your skills. Let’s get started!
Why Is Nonprofit Storytelling Important?
It’s hard to forget a good story. While we might not remember the specific facts or details, storytelling is still one of the best ways to connect with other humans and share an experience.
Additionally, studies show that roughly 70% of companies invest in content marketing to convey stories to their audiences. With so many organizations investing in this method, there are clearly real benefits to using storytelling in marketing strategies.
Storytelling Benefits To Your Nonprofit
Here are the top benefits a dedicated nonprofit storytelling strategy can bring you:
Another key benefit of nonprofit storytelling is that your supporters will be more informed about your cause and your organization’s needs. Seeing the impact of your work through testimonials from beneficiaries will remind them of the good that their contributions enable.
What Are The Elements Of Nonprofit Storytelling?
Compelling Characters
Every good story needs a hero. For your nonprofit story, you’ll need a compelling character to act as the main lead and inspire support.
This “character” should be a real person who has been impacted by your nonprofit in some way. For example, you might choose to center one of these supporters in your story:
To translate details about these supporters or beneficiaries to your audience, you’ll need to use more traditional storytelling methods. Here are some ways to capture their personalities and emotions on screen or paper:
For example, Feeding America includes these stories from Native American women working towards food security on their website. The nonprofit includes their names, a photo of them, and an explanation of how they are supporting the cause:
When you involve real people in your stories, remember to consider the ethics of the story you’re telling. As the nonprofit, you are in a position of power—especially if the subject is a beneficiary. Lead with their best interests first, and never indicate that your services are contingent upon their participation in the storytelling campaign. Everything presented in the campaign must be honest and transparent.
Dramatic Arc
The dramatic arc is what hooks your audience, gets them invested in your narrative, and empowers them to play their own role in the story.
Here are the five main elements of a dramatic arc:
As you’re crafting your story, remember to be as clear as possible about the goals of the character, the challenges they face, and how exactly your nonprofit and audience can help. These are the most important aspects of the story, and they need to shine through for your nonprofit to make an impact.
Solution
The solution to your story provides proof that your organization truly makes a difference. When explaining your solution, you should:
For example, Step Up For Students created a blog post highlighting the story of a scholarship recipient attending Notre Dame who achieved salutatorian status in his class (note the prominent donation button in the sidebar!):
4 Best Practices To Take Your Nonprofit’s Storytelling To The Next Level
1. Support a Specific Goal
Make sure you have a specific goal or action at the center of your narrative. The goal you pick will depend on your unique needs and audience, but here are some examples to get the ball rolling:
To improve your fundraising strategy beyond this single campaign, look at your database and make note of engagements or key performance indicators (KPIs) that are falling short. Then, craft a story to support that area, and make sure to note it as a priority for future marketing efforts.
2. Activate Supporters’ Empathy
Making supporters feel something is the main conduit to whether or not they will feel passionate about your mission and decide to give.
This example from the ASPCA’s homepage makes an emotional appeal by using images of the animals that they work to aid, asking supporters to help them:
Before you can activate your own supporters’ empathy, it’s key to understand your audience so you know why donors choose to support your cause. Analyze data about your supporters like their past philanthropic involvement, political contributions, and demographic information to get a feel for their personal values. Then, pinpoint those values in your story.
To make an emotional appeal, make sure to closely follow and highlight your character’s emotions. Aim to center their perspective so your audience feels like they are walking in the supporter or beneficiary’s shoes. To immerse them in the story, remember to describe sensory details like sounds, smells, and feelings.
3. Use Visuals
Visuals help evoke emotion from your audience, leave a lasting impression in your supporters’ minds, and build your organization’s brand.
The best part is that visuals can take so many forms nowadays and can supplement your storytelling in different ways:
Look through your own arsenal of marketing materials and determine if any of your visuals are viable for use in your nonprofit story.
4. Leverage Video Content
In a 2023 study, 91% of people surveyed said that they want to see more online videos from organizations—satisfy this demand with your storytelling strategies.
To create an effective video, follow these best practices:
For inspiration, check out this video from the World Wildlife Fund. It shows the importance of each tiny piece of an ecosystem and encourages people to “love it” by supporting WWF (or risk losing it):
Apply for the Google Grant with Getting Attention
Spreading awareness of your nonprofit and reaching new people with your carefully crafted stories will be the final, often most difficult, step in nonprofit storytelling. Traditional marketing channels like television can be costly, and you might feel overwhelmed by the vastness of digital marketing.
To receive professional help and get $10,000 in Google Ads for free, consider working with a Google Ad Grants agency.
If you aren’t familiar, the Google Grant is a program hosted by Google that gives $10,000 in Google Ad credits to nonprofit organizations each month. The purpose of this grant is to help nonprofits promote valuable digital content (like your stories!) to their supporters.
To gain access to the program, your nonprofit will need to apply, maintain compliance, target relevant keywords, and manage multiple ad campaigns. Getting Attention is a Google Ad Grant agency that’s ready to help you apply and manage your Google Ad campaigns.
Additional Resources
People are inspired by, learn from, and remember stories. Your nonprofit already has a compelling story: a built-in goal (mission) and antagonist (issue) to drive the narrative forward and captivate your audience members. Take advantage of this story waiting to be told in your next campaign.
To learn more about how you can level up your nonprofit marketing, explore these additional resources:
Making Your Case to Donors: Top 5 Tips to Increase Donations
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Fundraising /by Jessica KingIf you’re a nonprofit professional, you know just how important donations are to your organization. You may receive funds in other ways, such as grants or sponsorships, but consistent donations will launch you toward your fundraising goals.
Making your case to donors through presentations and one-on-one meetings is extremely effective because it allows you to start an in-person dialogue with donors and gather audience feedback. While other outreach methods such as emails and phone calls permit you to reach donors where they are, presentations and meetings allow for a more personalized, hands-on approach to increasing donations.
When you’re making your case to donors in a presentation or meeting, you want to make your cause stand out and prove why it’s important for them to contribute. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help encourage donations, including:
With these five tips in mind, you can strengthen your relationships with donors and motivate them to give back to your cause.
1. Get to know your donors.
When you understand your donors on a deeper level, you can offer more personalized messages and calls to action. Communicate with donors frequently through a variety of methods to learn more about them and gather feedback. These outreach methods may include email check-ins, annual surveys, phone calls, and social media direct messages.
The more you know about your donors, the better you can reach them. Ask them what interests them most about your nonprofit. Your organization may offer many different services, but matching each donor to the service they’re most passionate about will allow you to personalize your communications when it’s time to ask for donations.
You can store this information along with any other relevant demographic data in a donor data platform. NPOInfo explains that when you store all donor information in one place, it streamlines your communication with donors. You can reference this information to pick up donor communications where they left off and make sure each outreach point builds on previous conversations.
2. Incorporate storytelling.
When you speak to donors, you want to make your message as engaging as possible. That’s where storytelling comes in.
As Be Brilliant explains it, using storytelling in a presentation gives some individuality to your case. For example, you might not be the only animal shelter out there, but what makes yours unique? Perhaps your pet adoption program is so successful because of your organization’s unique pet-matching program that matches people with pets using a personality quiz. You might tell a story about an individual who came in looking for a pet with specific traits and found the perfect new furry family member for their needs.
Instead of drawing on generalities about your organization, use a story to show off exactly what your organization does. Plus, stories are better at eliciting emotions, which can motivate your donors to take action.
3. Create a sense of urgency.
Your supporters may feel connected to your organization, but if they don’t feel inclined to donate immediately, they’ll likely put it off and eventually forget to show their support. The two most popular times to donate tend to be the end of the year giving season and during major crises. However, this tendency can leave your nonprofit feeling strapped for cash in between popular donation times.
To solve this problem, create a sense of urgency surrounding donations. You do important work all year long, and you need regular donations in order to support it. Setting deadlines for donations pushes people to take action quickly.
Another way to create urgency is to connect your case to a relevant campaign or seasonal event. When donors see the larger initiative attached to your request, they may be more inclined to donate. For example, designated giving days like GivingTuesday that have hard deadlines can inspire quick responses.
Lastly, be extremely specific about what action you want your donors to take. When you write a clear and easy call to action, you’re more likely to inspire a quick response. Include all details potential donors will need to contribute to your cause, including a donation link.
4. Make it clear where donations are going.
When people give to an organization, they want to know exactly what their donation is going toward. That way, they can see the impact they’ve made and feel proud of their contribution.
The more specific you can get about the impact someone’s donation will have, the better. For example, instead of stating that donations will help animals in the shelter live a better life, share that the funds raised in the next month will go toward building a new outdoor space where dogs can get a break from the cramped conditions inside.
If you’re planning a live presentation for donors, this should be the bulk of your presentation. Make your current initiatives more tangible for donors with thorough explanations, infographics, pictures, and videos.
5. Add credibility to your case.
One of the biggest challenges of marketing your cause is establishing trustworthiness. It can be difficult for donors to trust an organization they may have never heard of or contributed to before.
However, there are ways to show that your organization is credible. For example, one of the best ways to gain trust when promoting your cause is to display donor testimonials. Ask some of your top supporters to share their experiences with your organization. Adding quotes from real people associated with your nonprofit will help verify your organization’s credibility.
Other strategies to demonstrate credibility include mentioning any seals of approval your organization has received and creating graphics that show exactly where your money comes from and where it goes.
Since nonprofits heavily depend on donations, it’s important to show donors your cause is worthy of their unwavering support. Consider implementing these tips to bolster your case to donors in presentations and meetings and encourage more donations.
Top Nonprofit Blogs & Tips: How to Master Content Marketing
/in Nonprofit Communications /by Jessica KingDid you know 92% of nonprofit marketers use some form of content marketing? That’s because it works! Blogging is an easy, effective way to boost your online presence. Nonprofit blogs use a mix of storytelling techniques to attract donors, increase audience engagement, and establish authority.
At Getting Attention, we help nonprofits elevate their online marketing efforts through Google Ad Grant optimization. That said, through those efforts, we’ve seen firsthand what can make or break a nonprofit’s blog! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the following information, including the importance of nonprofit blogs as well as best practices for curating content:
At the end of the guide, we’ll explore some note-worthy examples of blogs in the nonprofit space to kick off your brainstorming and make blogging a valuable part of your marketing plan. Let’s get started.
Overview of Nonprofit Blogs
Nonprofit blogs are dedicated resources hosted on the websites of charitable organizations, fundraising professionals and consultants, and nonprofit software companies. Blogs can range in style and content, from educational guides and industry updates to current events and impact stories. But each nonprofit blog shares a common goal: driving traffic to the organization’s website.
A nonprofit blog acts as a powerful search engine optimization (SEO) tool. While your main website provides the basic information for your mission and goals, your blog should explore topics that potential supporters might search for on Google. When your blog consistently posts valuable content that’s optimized for highly-searched keywords, it will become a go-to resource that ranks highly on search engine result pages and attracts new prospects.
If you find yourself asking, “Does my nonprofit need a blog?” the answer is likely yes! Blogging is an easy, effective way to stand out and engage with your audience. Since charitable organizations rely on raising awareness, blogs can help your organization to:
For more information on the benefits of blogging, read our article dedicated to the basics of nonprofit marketing blogs. Then, learn how to write a successful nonprofit blog in the next section.
How to Write a Nonprofit Blog
Now that you’ve decided to start a blog for your nonprofit, you’re left with the task of creating content. You may struggle with narrowing down topics, attracting an audience, and standing out against other nonprofit blogs.
Don’t fret! Nearly 64% of nonprofit content marketers publish blogs regularly, meaning it’s a popular and manageable undertaking. Use this simple step-by-step guide to help your nonprofit write an effective blog.
Step 1: Consider the goals of your blog.
Before you begin writing content, determine how the blog will tie into your marketing strategy. Host a meeting with your team to consider the short and long-term goals of the blog. The first question you should ask is “What do we hope to achieve through our marketing efforts?”
Create a list of 3-5 priorities for your nonprofit blog. Tactical goals include building brand awareness, attracting volunteers, increasing fundraising, and encouraging email signups, among others. Consider the following examples:
This process will help your team determine its short and long-term goals. After carefully considering your objectives, you’re ready to create a content strategy that will drive your nonprofit’s objectives.
Step 2: Create a content strategy.
A content strategy defines content-related decisions, including which blog posts you’ll write and when. Once you determine your goals, consider how content will fit into your marketing funnel. Which topics should be addressed at the top of the funnel to raise awareness? What subjects need to be covered to facilitate conversions?
Making a content strategy that works for your nonprofit will help you to create consistently strong content. Let’s review the three main elements of a content strategy that are especially important for nonprofit blogs:
Content strategies will be a go-to resource for your team, clarifying how, when, where, and why you will create content. Aligning content plans with your overall goals will improve your organization’s marketing efforts and help you create the most effective content.
Step 3: Create content.
Once you set your goals and establish a clear content strategy, you’re faced with the challenge of content creation. Keep in mind that blog posts of around 2,000 words have the highest SEO and social sharing rates. When creating your own content, keep the following writing tips in mind:
If you don’t have enough time to write your own content, you can still update your audience and support your marketing goals through content curation. Content curation is the process of selecting, editing, and publishing content from external sources. Just remember to never reproduce external content without identifying your source and adding your own expertise.
Step 4: Market your blog.
Now it’s time to make your nonprofit blog stand out! From email to social media, there are multiple marketing channels to choose from, and each has its own strengths. Here are the most popular marketing channels:
If a Google Grant seems like the best fit for your nonprofit blog, consider working with a certified agency like Getting Attention. Getting Attention’s team of experts offers free consultations and resources to help your organization plan a successful campaign strategy. Reach out to our team today to learn more!
Nonprofit Blog Best Practices
It’s no secret that building a nonprofit blog takes time and effort. But the payoff—driving interested supporters to your mission—will be worthwhile! Whether launching your first blog or updating existing content, your nonprofit will benefit from these blogging best practices:
These best practices will improve your search engine results and increase traffic to your nonprofit’s blog. Now let’s take a look at the nonprofit blogs that have successfully implemented these tips!
Best Nonprofit Blogs to Inspire You
With more than 500 million blogs worldwide, it can be difficult to sort through the seemingly endless sea of information. We’ve compiled a list of the best nonprofit blogs that managed to stand out using marketing strategies. From Getting Attention to Top Nonprofits, these nonprofit blogs are sure to inspire your next post!
Getting Attention
Getting Attention is made up of professional fundraising consultants dedicated to Google Ad Grant management. Getting Attention’s nonprofit marketing blog offers articles spanning a variety of essential nonprofit topics, from the basics of Google Grants to guides for planning a comprehensive nonprofit marketing plan.
Double the Donation
Double the Donation is an expert in matching gift funds, with the largest and most accurate database of matching gift and volunteer grant information in the nonprofit sector. Double the Donation’s dedicated blogroll consists of industry guides and nonprofit tips including corporate fundraising, general fundraising guides, and top software provider lists.
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re:Charity
re:Charity is a nonprofit blog dedicated to hosting fundraising resources, tips, best practices, industry guides, and software lists. There is a wide range of information on re:Charity, with specific blog categories dedicated to fundraising, marketing, technology, and nonprofit strategies.
Fundraising Letters
Fundraising Letters is a website committed to helping nonprofit leaders craft compelling and engaging communications with supporters. The Fundraising Letters blog allows professionals to peruse educational resources provided by thought leaders throughout the nonprofit industry.
Crowd101
Crowd101 hosts a wide variety of resources and blog posts to help fundraisers begin a crowdfunding event, market it effectively, and explore other fundraising tips. Their blog is a great resource with clearly defined sections like getting started with crowdfunding, crowdfunding examples, fundraising ideas, real estate crowdfunding information, and more!
NonprofitPRO
NonprofitPRO is a go-to source for nonprofit management and strategy which serves fresh, hard-hitting content. They cover a range of topics, including human resources, board and volunteer management, legal matters, news, and raising funds. NonprofitPRO’s blog effectively brings together thought leaders in the nonprofit industry, offering a wide range of tools and strategy guides to modern nonprofit professionals.
Get Fully Funded
Get Fully Funded is a step-by-step system for fundraising that teaches how to build a loyal donor base, inspire donors to give, and build relationships that keep them giving. Their dedicated team of professionals offers coaching, training, and support to fully fund your nonprofit. Get Fully Funded has an extensive blog site with weekly tips and tools to help you raise the money you need to grow your nonprofit.
Candid
Candid connects people who want to make a difference with the resources they need to do it. GuideStar, a data collection company, and Foundation Center joined forces to create Candid, a comprehensive database for nonprofits. Follow their blog for regularly updated information on how philanthropy responds to advancing racial equity and safeguarding democracy.
Nonprofit Hub
Nonprofit Hub is a national educational publication helping nonprofits grow their missions and better their organizations. It’s a great resource for thought leadership and resources on marketing, fundraising, and more! Each week, Nonprofit Hub publishes new blog content ranging from nonprofit branding to nonprofit web design.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
Nonprofit Tech for Good focuses on providing useful, easy-to-understand news and resources related to digital marketing and fundraising. 101 Best Practices is their blog and webinar series on website design, email marketing, online fundraising, and social media best practices for nonprofits, NGOs, and charities worldwide.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy explores the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, their print and online content targets charity leaders, foundation executives, fundraising professionals, and ordinary people involved in philanthropy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s blog is dedicated to honest conversations about what works and what doesn’t in the nonprofit sector.
Top Nonprofits
Top Nonprofits was founded to help nonprofits accelerate their growth through sharing information, tools, trends, and best practices. In this blog, you’ll learn about new frontiers in fundraising, best storytelling practices, tips for mission statements, and more!
Wrapping Up: Our Final Tip for Optimizing Your Nonprofit’s Marketing
The bottom line: running a nonprofit blog takes dedication, consistent writing, and a strong marketing strategy. If you follow best practices, your nonprofit will reap benefits like connecting to donors and increasing brand awareness.
Once you’re ready to promote your nonprofit blog, consider working with a trusted expert like Getting Attention. We’ll help you bring new supporters to your website through Google Ad Grant management and make the most of your Google Ad Grant.
Getting Started with YouTube for Nonprofits in 3 Steps
/in Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingAs of 2023, a record 91% of businesses use video as one of their marketing tools. Of the marketing professionals who don’t use video as part of their strategy, 18% shared that they weren’t sure how to get started. If your nonprofit is part of that 18%, then a good place to start is gaining a better understanding of the most ubiquitous video hosting platform on the internet: YouTube.
Founded in 2005, YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the internet, second only to Google, YouTube’s parent company. While there are other options for hosting and promoting video, most nonprofits rely on YouTube thanks to its large audience, intuitive interface, and nonprofit-friendly program, YouTube for Nonprofits.
To get your organization started with YouTube for Nonprofits, this guide will explore the basics of this marketing opportunity and how to make successful videos:
As you learn about YouTube for Nonprofits, talk with your marketing team, especially those who already have experience with video and YouTube. Work with them to brainstorm video ideas and determine what production scale would be possible based on your nonprofit’s resources. Then, when your nonprofit is approved and ready to start posting on YouTube, your marketing team can get straight to work supporting your digital fundraising campaigns with videos.
What is YouTube for Nonprofits?
YouTube for Nonprofits is Google’s program for nonprofits looking to fundraise on YouTube. While almost anyone can use YouTube to generate revenue after earning a certain number of subscribers, YouTube for Nonprofits gives 501(c)(3) organizations a headstart with the following features:
Essentially, YouTube for Nonprofits will allow your organization to more effectively create videos and fundraise through the YouTube platform. But first, your organization must sign up for a Google for Nonprofits account.
How to Set Up Your YouTube for Nonprofits Account
Joining YouTube for Nonprofits is relatively easy, especially if your nonprofit already has a Google for Nonprofits account and a YouTube channel. If you don’t, just follow these steps:
Sign up for Google for Nonprofits.
Google for Nonprofits is a program that provides eligible charitable organizations with access to premium Google products and services, including Workspace, Ad Grants, and YouTube for Nonprofits.
Here is a complete list of all products and features organizations using Google for Nonprofits can access:
To join Google for Nonprofits, first check if you meet the following eligibility requirements:
From there, request a Google for Nonprofits account. Just click “Get started,” and the system will walk you through the necessary steps. After that, their validation partners, TechSoup and Percent, may reach out to you if they have any questions or need additional documentation. Then, in 2-14 business days, you should receive verification.
Google Ad Grants
In addition to YouTube for Nonprofits, signing up for Google for Nonprofits is the first step toward applying for the Google Ad Grant. Google Ad Grants are monthly allocations of $10,000 that Google gives to nonprofits to run keyword ad campaigns.
Google Ads appear at the top of the search results page for related keywords, improving the chances that page visitors will see and click on the link. Nonprofits can use Google Ad Grants to promote almost any marketing campaign they have, including:
Applying for the Google Ad Grant does require an additional step of ensuring that your website is considered high-quality and ready for promotion. Ensure your website is optimized by implementing security measures, creating a user-friendly experience, and populating your site with valuable content.
Create a YouTube channel.
To activate your account, you’ll need your YouTube channel ID. Here’s how to find your channel ID or create a channel for your nonprofit if it doesn’t already have one:
If you ever need to change the YouTube channel associated with YouTube for Nonprofits, log into Google for Nonprofits, navigate to YouTube for Nonprofits, and select “Change channel ID.”
Sign in to Google for Nonprofits and click “Get Started.”
The last step is to sign into Google for Nonprofits. Under “YouTube for Nonprofits,” will be a “Get Started” button you can click to activate your account. You will need to complete a few steps, such as providing your YouTube channel ID.
From there, Google will review your application in approximately three business days before sending an email confirming your account has been activated. You can then start using all of YouTube for Nonprofit’s features.
YouTube for Nonprofit’s Social Impact Fundamentals
YouTube shares the following philosophy toward social impact on their site:
As part of this philosophy, YouTube promotes five fundamentals they believe nonprofits can achieve and leverage to make a social impact:
Your YouTube channel doesn’t need to become a viral sensation for it to help your cause. Whether you aim to cultivate a new base of support on YouTube or are just interested in using the platform to host a few professional videos, these fundamentals can help you cultivate a positive experience that can translate into donations for your cause.
Video Creation Tips
Nonprofits interested in video content have two options: create videos internally or hire an external video production company. Some video production companies have specific services for nonprofits that may be more moderately priced. However, video production is still expensive, and many nonprofits may prefer to at least make shorter and less formal videos internally.
Whether you decide to have your team make videos or want to be informed about the video creation process when working with a production company, here are a few tips about developing nonprofit videos:
Must-Have Equipment
Like any type of digital marketing content, videos need the right software and equipment to develop. Professional video production companies will likely use tools that are far more advanced than the average nonprofit’s needs. If you only wish to make casual YouTube Shorts style content, a basic camera and free editing software may even satisfy your needs.
However, if you want to create slightly more complex videos, you’ll need to research video production equipment and weigh the costs against your marketing budget. At the very least, you’ll need:
For more specific information about different types of cameras, microphones, and other equipment, YouTube itself is full of videos that offer tutorials on everything from how to set up your lighting to the effect different types of camera lenses will have on your videos.
Emotional Impact
With its ability to showcase sounds and visuals together, video is an especially effective medium for conveying emotion. For example, nonprofit video production company Tectonic Video created this emotional video for Mutual Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to helping animals find their forever homes:
This video uses a combination of interviews, home movies, animated footage, and carefully framed close-ups to help viewers connect with their cause. The music also transitions from upbeat to create a positive atmosphere as viewers get to know the family before switching to a more melancholy track to reinforce the more challenging emotions they experienced.
Videos that get viewers to empathize with their cause are more likely to be shared and earn support. In your own videos, consider how you can tell stories that encourage your audience to root for those who have a connection with your cause. Then, use music cues and footage to evoke emotions that will make supporters want to take action.
Visual Identity
Building a following on YouTube requires building a brand. Do you want viewers to think of your organization as inspirational? Relatable and familiar? Cutting-edge and professional? Think about your current brand identity and how you can translate it to video.
For example, one nonprofit might make an effort to only feature footage of their beneficiaries rather than their staff and volunteers to emphasize their commitment to elevating and empowering beneficiaries. By contrast, another organization may use an animated style to humanize concepts like water cycles or less-than-cute creatures like insects.
Additionally, ensure your organization’s name and logo are featured in your video, so if the video gets shared on a different site, supporters can find their way back to your nonprofit.
Call-to-Action
After watching your video, what action do you want your supporters to take? On YouTube, it’s become a cliche for videos to begin by asking viewers to “Like, comment, and subscribe,” and nonprofits have even more actions they might request for supporters, such as sharing, donating, or volunteering.
However, asking viewers to take multiple actions, especially if they’re listed quickly in a row, can easily become white noise. For viewers who watch a lot of online content, ignoring multiple calls to action can become a habit.
Ensure your calls to action stand out by asking supporters to take just one specific action in your videos.
When creating your videos, consider how they fit into your overall marketing strategy. For example, for a video that tells an emotional story, you might ask supporters to donate. Or, you might create educational videos for an awareness campaign and ask viewers to “like” them, which boosts engagement and increases the likelihood that they will be recommended to others.
Launch Your YouTube Channel
Whether you just need a platform to host video content or are looking to build an entirely new following, YouTube is the channel for sharing inspiring content and connecting with supporters through video.
Of course, video is just one part of your marketing campaign, and the rest of your advertising strategy is instrumental in helping your videos find their audience. Learn more about nonprofit marketing and promote your videos with these resources: